LIBRARY 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA. 


Class 


THE   ORIGIN 


OF 


PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 


PLATE   1 


„.  • 

Wm 


^•1 


I 


A    FLYING    HEAD. 


[Frontispiece.] 


THE    ORIGIN 


OF 


PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS 


AND    THEIR    DEVELOPMENT    INTO    THE   WORSHIP   OF 

SPIRITS    AND    THE    DOCTRINE    OF    SPIRITUAL 

AGENCY  AMONG   THE  ABORIGINES 

OF  AMERICA. 


BY 

RUSHTON    M.    DORMAN, 


TWENTY-SIX  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
J.    B.    LIPPINCOTT   &    CO. 

LONDON  :    16  SOUTHAMPTON   STREET,  COVENT   GARDEN. 
1881. 


K 


Copyright,  1881,  by  RUSHTON  M.  DORMANT. 


PREFACE. 


THE  study  of  archaeological  subjects  is  increasing  in  interest. 
Recent  disclosures  concerning  the  early  condition  and  history 
of  the  human  race  have  directed  much  attention  to  these  sub 
jects.  Man's  oral  history  crystallized  in  myths  and  supersti 
tions  reflects  much  light  into  a  past  which  written  history  has 
not  penetrated.  Mythology  is,  therefore,  a  very  important 
branch  of  anthropological  science.  Mythology  in  its  broadest 
definition  includes  all  pagan  religious  beliefs,  commonly  called' 
superstitions,  and  cannot  be  confined  to  collections  of  fables 
and  traditions,  which  are  the  folk-lore  of  peoples.  It  is  the  aim 
of  this  book  to  contribute  facts  to  show  the  homogeneity  of 
man's  religious  beliefs.  Although  the  New  World  is  the  field 
of  research  in  the  present  volume,  the  rudimentary  forms  of 
belief  are  shown  to  be  the  same  there  as  elsewhere,  and  their 
systematic  development  is  also  the  same.  A  striking  illustra 
tion  of  this  fact  occurs  to  the  writer,  who,  while  among  the 
negroes  of  the  South,  found  among  that  uncultured  people  the 
same  superstitions  that  prevailed  in  Africa,  which  were  also  the 
same  as  those  found  among  equally  uncultured  peoples  every 
where.  The  only  way  to  account  for  their  presence  among  the 
Southern  negroes  is  to  ascribe  them  to  the  natural  outgrowth 
of  the  human  mind,  everywhere  the  same  in  the  same  stage  of 
progress.  Mythologists  have  studied  myths  without  studying 
the  superstitions  which  have  found  expression  in  the  myths. 
They  have  exhausted  resources  in  attempts  to  prove  that  the 
higher  phases  of  belief  and  worship  have  been  the  most  ancient 
and  have  become  debased  in  the  ruder  forms.  Voss  endeavors 
to  find  in  pagan  myths  a  distortion  of  Hebrew  revelations. 

221023 


6  PREFACE. 

Dupuis,  with  his  Sabaistic  origin  for  cults,  looks  to  astronomy 
for  a  solution.  Abbe  Banier  finds  in  mythology  "  history  in 
poetic  dress."  Creuzer  sees  nothing  but  symbols,  and  shows 
much  erudition  in  his  attempts  to  find  their  hidden  meaning. 
Nearly  all  mythologists  have  fixed  upon  some  locality  where 
myths  have  originated,  in  the  infancy  of  the  human  race,  and 
whence  they  have  spread,  by  transmission  or  migration,  into  the 
rest  of  the  earth.  Pococke  and  Sir  William  Jones  locate  their 
origin  in  the  East;  Rudbeck,  in  the  North;  Bryant,  among 
the  Hebrews.  A  new  departure  has  been  taken,  however,  in 
mythological  science. 

A  work  of  the  character  of  the  present  volume  must  neces 
sarily  be  to  a  great  extent  a  compilation.  I  have  used  great 
care  to  give  credit  to  authors  cited  in  this  work,  but,  in  order 
to  escape  quoting  in  full,  in  some  cases  have  made  abstracts  of 
passages  in  such  a  way  as  to  preserve  their  sense,  without  being 
able,  however,  to  use  quotation-marks,  on  account  of  such 
change.  In  such  cases  citations  always  occur,  but  it  may  not 
always  be  clear  where  the  citation  begins  and  ends.  On  this 
account  I  wish  to  acknowledge  special  obligations  to  the  work 
of  H.  H.  Bancroft  on  the  Native  Races  of  the  Pacific  Slope, 
Mr.  Spencer's  works  on  Sociology,  and  Mr.  Tylor's  Primitive 
Culture.  I  will  also  mention,  as  being  specially  full  of  in 
formation  on  subjects  relating  to  the  aboriginal  tribes,  the  works 
of  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  especially  the  large  work,  in  six  volumes, 
published  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States  government,  but 
under  his  supervision;  also  the  works  of  Messrs.  Squier  and 
Brinton;  also  Mr.  Southey's  History  of  Brazil. 

A  list  of  authorities  cited  in  this  work  might  be  of  some 
value  as  a  bibliographical  manual  of  the  literature  of  the  sub 
ject,  but  would  add  to  the  size  and  cost  of  this  book,  and  only 
be  superfluous  when  such  exhaustive  works  as  those  of  Messrs. 
Ludewig,  Field,  and  Sabin  have  been  published  and  can  easily 
be  obtained  by  those  desiring  such  a  work. 

CHICAGO,  February  9,  1881. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY  .        .    "    .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .  13 

CHAPTER    II. 

DOCTRINE   OF   SPIRITS. 

Spirits  permeate  all  animate  and  inanimate  nature — Fear  of  these  spirits — 
Contests  with  spirits  —  Destruction  and  desertion  of  property — Spirits 
assume  fairy  forms — Demonology — Fear  of  evil  spirits  becomes  worship 
— Doctrine  of  future  rewards  and  punishments — Land  of  souls — Its  locali 
ties  and  occupations — Difficulties  of  the  journey  thither — These  difficul 
ties  dependent  on  the  traditional  difficulties  of  tribal  migrations — Trans 
migration  of  spirits — Disease  produced  by  them — The  confessional  as  a 
cure — Sorcery — Couvade — Dreams  a  revelation  from  spirits — Prophecy  .  19 

CHAPTER   III. 

DOCTRINE    OF   SPIRITS  (CONTINUED). 

Worship  of  human  spirits — Ancestral  worship — Apotheosis — Culture-heroes 
— Fabulous  forms  assumed  by  mythical  beings — Gods  of  Mexico,  Central 
America,  Bogota,  and  Peru — Idolatry — Its  primitive  forms — Grave-posts 
roughly  hewn  into  the  image  of  the  dead  and  worshipped — Its  later  form 
an  image  of  the  deceased  containing  his  ashes — Idolatry  in  aboriginal 
art — Supposed  vitality  of  idols  ........  69 

CHAPTER    IV. 

FETICHISTIC    SUPERSTITIONS. 

Fetichism — Scalping  fetichistic  in  conception — Inherence  of  spiritual  force 
— Cannibalism  fetichistic  and  a  religious  act — Eating  images  of  gods  a  rite 
similar  to  the  eucharistic — Superstitious  fears  about  pronouncing  the  names 
of  the  dead — Tattooing  fetichistic — Amulets — Primitive  ornamentation 
fetichistic  ..  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  141 

7 


8  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   V. 

RITES   AND   CEREMONIES   CONNECTED   WITH   THE   DEAD. 

PAGE 

Burial-customs— Care  of  the  dead— Interment— Suspension— Cremation- 
Tombs  the  primitive  altars— The  mounds,  their  builders  and  uses— Burial- 
towers Resurrection  of  the  dead — Sacrifice — Food-offerings  the  primitive 

form — Human  sacrifices — Tombs  the  primitive  temples    ....     163 

CHAPTER    VI. 

ANIMAL-WORSHIP. 

Its  animistic  origin — Immortality  of  the  spirits  of  animals — Transmigra 
tion  of  human  souls  into  animals — Omens — Manitology — Totemism — 
Animal  names  given  to  human  beings — Traditionary  descent  of  tribes 
from  animals — Totemism  in  art — Heraldry — Totemic  writing — Tattooing 

Probable  totemic  origin  of  the  animal  mounds — Traditionary  descent 

of  animals  from  the  human  race — Metamorphosis — Animal  dress — Wor 
ship  of  animals — Fabulous  animals — Animals  in  the  r6le  of  creators         .     221 

CHAPTER   VII. 

WORSHIP   OF   TREES   AND   PLANTS. 

Worship  of  trees — Their  supposed  vitality  explained  by  animism — Supposed 
descent  of  human  beings  from  trees— Worship  of  plants — Personality 
ascribed  to  them — Origin  of  plants  from  human  bodies — Those  having 
medical  properties  supposed  to  be  endowed  with  supernatural  powers  .  287 

CHAPTER    VIII. 

WORSHIP   OF   REMARKABLE   NATURAL   OBJECTS. 

Worship  of  mountains  and  dangerous  places — Their  supposed  frequentation 
by  spirits — Worship  of  volcanoes — Echoes  and  other  noises  supposed  to 
be  the  voices  of  spirits— Traditionary  descents  of  tribes  from  mountains — 
Metamorphosis— Worship  of  islands — Traditions  of  the  origin  of  islands 
— Origin  of  the  belief  that  the  world  was  supported  on  the  backs  of  ani 
mals — Worship  of  springs  and  fountains — Traditionary  tribal  descents 
from  them — Their  healing  properties  supernatural — Worship  of  rivers  and 
lakes — Places  of  refuge  .  ..  ».  .  .  »•"'.'-•  300 


CONTENTS.  9 

CHAPTER    IX. 

SABAISM. 

PAGE 
Worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies — Their  personality — Their  anthropomorphic 

nature — Animistic  conceptions  of  them — Their  romantic  attachments  to 
human  beings — Their  vitality — Their  occupation  by  translated  heroes — 
Crude  notions  concerning  them— Eclipses — Astrology  ....  325 

CHAPTER   X. 

ANIMISTIC  THEORY   OF   METEOROLOGY. 

Tempests  produced  by  hostile  spirits — Coercive  measures  used  to  prevent 
them — Winds  the  manifestations  of  spiritual  agency — Anthropomorphic 
representations  of  aerial  deities  ........  349 

CHAPTER    XL 

PRIESTCRAFT. 

Priests — Sources  of  their  influence — Medicine-men  or  doctors  of  rude  tribes 
— Exorcism  of  evil  spirits  the  method  of  curing  diseases — Sorcerers — 
Miraculous  powers  ascribed  to  them — Rain-doctors — Witches — Rise  of 
priestly  hierarchies  among  the  more  civilized  peoples — Priesthoods  of  Peru, 
Mexico,  Yucatan,  etc. — Monastic  institutions  of  those  countries — Educa 
tional  institutions  in  the  hands  of  the  priests — Their  influence  in  the  State 
— Confessional — Priestly  absolution  saved  criminals  from  legal  penalties  .  353 

CHAPTER    XII. 
CONCLUSION 385 

INDEX 393 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


A  FLYING  HEAD  (see  page  281) Frontispiece 

DACOTAH  GOD  OF  THUNDER 83 

HEYOKA 84 

DACOTAH  GOD  OF  WAR 85 

ATOTARHO,  ANCIENT  RULER  OF  THE  IROQUOIS    ....          faces      86 

GRAVE-POST  HEWN  TO  THE  LIKENESS  OF  THE  DECEASED     .        .        .        .     Il8 

TOMB  OF  AN  ALASKAN  CHIEF     .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .118 

IMAGE  OF  AN  INCA      .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .119 

SEPULCHRAL  URN  OF  THE  MEXICANS faces    120 

SEPULCHRAL  URN  CONTAINING  BRAZILIAN  CHIEF       .....     121 

OJIBWAY  IDOI ....     127 

MOQUI  IDOL 127 

STONES  SLIGHTLY  ALTERED  TO  A  HUMAN  RESEMBLANCE      .        .        .        .130 
BURIAL-TOWER  OF  PERU    .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .191 

TOTEMIC  WRITING faces    239 

THUNDER-BIRD  OF  THE  HAIDAHS 272 

TCHIMOSE 278 

FABULOUS  ANIMAL  OF  THE  WINNEBAGOES 279 

COMPOSITE  FIGURE  OF  THE  PERUVIANS 284 

GOD  OF  GRASS   . 299 

ROCK-TEMPLE  OF  PERU      .        .        . 302 

GOD  OF  THE  SEA        ...........     323 

SUN-HEAD         .        ... 338 

GOD  OF  THE  AIR 352 

PROPHET'S  LODGE      .        . faces    363 


1 1 


PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

THE  object  of  this  book  is  to  reduce  to  a  system  of  religious 
belief  that  multitude  of  superstitions  that  have  germinated 
among  uncultured  peoples,  and  many  of  which  remain  as  sur 
vivals  in  a  higher  culture,  although  they  are  inconsistent  with 
the  higher  forms  of  religious  belief  among  which  they  are 
found.  We  hope  to  trace  all  superstitions  to  a  common  ori 
gin.  Success  in  tracing  such  superstitions  to  their  source, 
connected  with  evidence  that  they  have  originated  in  error,  or 
in  ignorance  of  the  truth,  will  certainly  prove  a  benefit  to  man. 
The  process  of  discovering  these  sources  is,  and  always  will 
be,  an  interesting  labor  to  the  anthropologist.  The  results  of 
such  research  will  certainly  prove  an  interesting  chapter  in  the 
history  of  man. 

The  doctrine  of  transmigration  in  the  Orient,  the  animal 
worship  of  the  Egyptians,  the  Sabaism  of  the  Persians,  are  but 
stages  of  progress  in  a  religious  evolution.  The  pagoda  of 
the  Orient,  the  pyramid  of  Egypt,  the  temple  of  Greece,  are 
but  the  representations  in  art  of  a  superstition  that  finds  its  first 
expression  in  a  more  primitive  form.  The  laws  of  evolution 
in  the  spiritual  world  can  be  traced  with  as  great  precision  as 
in  the  material  world.  Much  labor  has  been  spent  in  the  study 
of  the  laws  of  man's  social  progress,  and  much  success  has 
followed  such  effort.  While  a  progressive  movement  must  be 
recognized  in  all  social  institutions  among  peoples  that  have 

2  13 


I4  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

attained  any  degree  of  civilization,  yet  the  tendency  of  all  the 
evidence  is  to  show  that  the  highest  development  of  religious 
culture  among  pagan  nations  has  not  attained  to  monotheism  ; 
on  the  contrary,  the  principles  that  control  all  religious  thought 
among  primitive  peoples  will  work  themselves  out  in  poly 
theism  among  those  peoples  in  lower  stages  of  culture,  or  in 
pantheism  among  those  of  a  higher  culture. 

That  sublime  definition,  u  God  is  a  spirit,  infinite,  eternal,  and 
unchangeable  in  his  being,  wisdom,  power,  holiness,  justice, 
goodness,  and  truth,"  followed  by  that  definition  of  the  "  chief 
end"  of  man,  which  is  "  to  glorify  God  and  enjoy  him  forever," 
is  the  high  product  of  Christianity,  which,  if  maintained  in  its 
purity,  has  nothing  to  fear  from  religious  evolution. 
•"""All  primitive  religious  belief  is  polytheistic.  All  savage 
tribes  are  full  of  the  terror  of  invisible  spirits  which  have  been 
liberated  by  death.  These  spirits  fill  all  nature,  animate  and 
inanimate.  They  are  in  the  air,  the  wind,  the  storm,  in  the 
rock,  the  hill,  the  vale,  in  the  river,  the  waterfall.  They  trans 
migrate  into  human  beings,  animals,  plants,  and  even  into  in 
animate  stones,  idols,  and  heavenly  bodies,  which  are  supposed 
to  be  animate  thereafter.  Hence  originates  the  worship  of 
^ancestors,  and  also  of  animals,  plants,  stones,  idols,  and  the 
heavenly  bodies.  Death,  the  liberator,  and  burial,  have  their 
religious  ceremonies,  and  the  tomb  becomes  the  temple. 
These  spirits  liberated  by  death,  or  by  sleep  or  a  comatose 
condition,  which  are  its  equivalents  in  savage  life,  are  abroad 
on  the  earth  for  a  time,  and  can  avenge  themselves  for  past  or 
present  wrongs,  in  disease,  which  is  a  form  of  transmigration. 
They  can  appear  in  dreams,  which  is  a  form  of  prophecy. 

Among  primitive  peoples  the  cure  of  diseases  was  given 
over  to  sorcerers,  who  were  supposed  to  have  .some  control 
over  the  evil-disposed  spirits.  This  sorcery  developed  into 
the  priestcraft  of  higher  cultures,  where  exorcism  of  evil  spirits 
still  survives  as  one  of  the  offices  of  the  priests.  In  our  own 
day  those  peculiar  diseases  which  have  defied  medical  skill, 
such  as  insanity,  hysteria,  and  epilepsy,  are  relegated  in  many 


lllc 

7ro< 


INTR  OD  UCTOR  Y.  1 5 

countries  for  cure  to  the  priesthood.  Even  the  primitive  feti- 
chism  survives  in  the  use  of  charms  and  amulets,  and  in  the 
heraldic  devices  on  many  national  flags  and  the  armorial  bear 
ings  of  many  families. 

In  tracing  the  origin  of  superstitions  among  savage  or  bar 
barous  peoples,  we  will  become  convinced  of  the  error  of  any 
writer  who  has  affirmed  that  this  or  that  people  has  no  re 
ligion  or  religious  feeling.  Many  such  authors  have  contra 
dicted  themselves  unwittingly  by  giving  a  long  list  of  these 
superstitions ;  and  I  have  often  thought  that  they  merely  meant 
to  convey  the  impression  that  the  savages  knew  nothing  of 
true  religion.  Let  me  say  here  that  in  all  my  studies  upon 
this  subject  I  have  not  found  a  people,  no  matter  how  savage, 
who  have  no  religion,  if  the  word  is  used  in  its  broadest  sense 
to  embrace  all  superstition.  I  wish  to  speak  of  another  error 
found  in  many  books  on  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  America, 
where  it  is  intimated  that  the  belief  in  a  Supreme  Being  has 
existed  among  them  from  an  early  time.  No  approach  to 
monotheism  had  been  made  before  the  discovery  of  America 
by  Europeans,  and  the  Great  Spirit  mentioned  in  these  books 
is  an  introduction  by  Christianity.  Among  the  Northern  tribes 
the  Indian  word  manitou  expresses  their  highest  conception  of 
deity.  "  Their  gods  were  no  whit  better  than  themselves," 
says  Mr.  Parkman,  "  and  when  the  Indian  borrows  from  Chris 
tianity  the  idea  of  a  supreme  spirit,  his  tendency  is  to  reduce 
him  to  a  local  habitation  and  a  bodily  shape.  The  idea  that 
the  primitive  Indian  had  an  Omnipotent  Spirit  to  which  he 
yielded  his  untutored  homage  is  a  dream  of  poets,  rhetoricians, 
and  sentimentalists."  Mr.  Keating  says  that  the  ideas  that  the 
Sauks  had  of  the  Great  Spirit  were  that  he  had  a  human  form, 
was  white,  and  wore  a  hat.  Mr.  Dall  says,  "  The  Thlinkeets, 
like  all  American  Indians,  do  not  believe  in  a  Supreme  Being. 
Their  feeble  polytheism  presents  no  feature  worthy  the  name 
of  such  a  belief."  Mr.  Schoolcraft  says,  "  The  Dacotahs  do 
not  understand  the  difference  between  a  great  Good  Spirit  and 
a  great  Evil  Spirit.  They  think  any  spirit  can  do  good  when 


1 6  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

it  chooses,  or  evil  when  it  chooses."  The  Patagonians  call 
God  Sorc/tii y  but  their  word  for  the  dead  is  soychuhet.  The 
word  Con,  which  has  been  used  for  the  supreme  deity  of  the 
Peruvians,  originated  in  a  blunder  of  the  Spanish  writers.  It 
was  a  prefix  to  sacred  names,  and  is  the  first  syllable  in  Con- 
opa,  a  stone  idol.  A  close  examination  makes  it  evident  that 
the  Indians'  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being  was  a  conception  no 
higher  than  might  have  been  expected,  and  when  they  under 
took  to  contemplate  such  a  Being  it  became  finite,  and  gener 
ally  ridiculous.  There  is  no  Iroquois  word  that  had  such  a 
primitive  meaning  as  Great  Spirit,  or  God.  Perrot,  after  a  life 
spent  among  the  Northern  Indians,  ignores  the  idea  that  they 
had  any  conception  of  such  a  Being ;  and  Allouez  says  the 
same  of  the  tribes  about  Lake  Superior.  The  tribes  of  Cali 
fornia  had  no  conception  whatever  of  a  Supreme  Being.  Mr. 
Powers  says,  "  True,  nearly  all  of  them  now  speak  of  the  Old 
Man  Above,  but  they  have  the  word  and  nothing  more." 

The  American  tribes  afford  a  very  favorable  opportunity  for 
such  an  investigation  as  the  present.  Without  entering  into 
the  controversy  as  to  the  antiquity  of  the  Red  Race,  I  shall 
assume  that  it  has  occupied  the  territory  of  North  and  South 
America  for  a  sufficient  length  of  time  to  have  developed  its 
own  culture  in  the  varied  stages  of  progress  found  at  the  time 
of  the  discovery  by  Columbus.  Such  an  assumption  is  war 
ranted  by  the  best  researches  into  their  antiquity.  I  shall  also 
assume  that  during  the  progress  of  their  culture  no  interference 
from  without  has  left  any  traces  of  itself.  The  best  American 
ists,  after  much  study  devoted  to  this  subject,  have  so  decided. 

Without  discussing  the  theory  of  the  unity  of  the  human 
race,  I  shall  assume  that  the  Red  Race,  if  the  unity  of  human 
races  is  true,  was  separated  from  the  rest  of  the  human  family 
at  such  an  early  day  that  their  mythology  is  indigenous,  as  was 
also  their  language. 

All  stages  of  progress  are  faithfully  represented  among  them, 
from  the  most  savage  root-digger  to  the  most  civilized  Peru 
vian.  There  were  tribes  of  hunters,  tribes  of  fishermen,  and 


INTRODUCTORY.  17 

tribes  of  agriculturists.  Art  is  also  represented  in  all  its  forms. 
When  we  arise  from  a  study  of  their  mental  characteristics, 
we  cannot  help  being  impressed  with  the  fact  that  the  human 
mind  unfolds  itself  in  all  directions  with  as  great  regularity  as 
does  our  physical  nature.  The  growth  of  the  mind  is  as  cer 
tain  in  its  order  of  development  as  is  the  growth  of  the  body. 
It  is  due  to  these  laws  of  development  that  the  native  of  Pata 
gonia  has  about  the  same  superstitions  as  has  the  native  of 
Alaska.  The  similarity  is  not  due  to  contact  between  the  sev 
eral  tribes  of  America.  The  differences  in  all  the  tribes  are 
due  to  external  influences,  such  as  climate,  soil,  occupation, 
and  also  to  their  different  degrees  of  progress  in  culture. 

Progress  in  religious  culture  is  coextensive  with  all  other 
human  progress  among  pagan  nations.  Pagan  religion  being 
the  product  of  the  human  mind,  and  emanating  from  no  higher 
source,  will  therefore  have  no  great  tendency  to  elevate  hu 
manity.  Hence  religious  progress  will  always  be  in  accord 
with  progress  in  other  directions. 

The  American  savages  agree  in  their  religious  views  with 
the  savages  of  other  continents  more  than  with  the  civilized 
peoples  of  their  own.  Says  Mr.  J.  G.  Miiller,  "  The  origin, 
of  their  religions  is  found  in  their  human  nature.  They 
have  not  received  them  from  the  peoples  of  the  Old  World, 
neither  can  they  be  understood  if  we  try  to  derive  them  from 
thence." 

Hence  the  study  of  comparative  mythology  can  never  have 
scientific  value  unless  it  is  coextensive  with  the  study  of 
human  progress  in  all  directions.  Too  much  effort  has  hereto 
fore  been  directed  to  tracing  a  derivation  of  one  system  of 
mythological  belief  from  another  by  contact  or  migration  of 
myths.  The  growth  of  mythologies  among  all  peoples  has 
taken  place  according  to  the  laws  of  man's  spiritual  being. 
There  is  therefore  a  great  similarity  of  religious  belief  among 
all  peoples  in  the  same  progressive  stages.  Even  the  simi 
larity  of  the  myths  themselves  is  remarkable  in  cases  where 
no  transmission  could  possibly  have  taken  place. 


1 8  PRJM1TIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

I  shall  not  undertake  to  compare,  to  any  extent,  the  super 
stitions  of  the  New  World  with  those  of  the  Old  World  in 
this  volume,  as  I  intend  to  reserve  that  subject  for  another 
time;  and  I  shall  therefore  confine  my  attention  almost  ex 
clusively  to  a  comparative  study  of  the  religious  beliefs  and 
traditions  of  the  aborigines  of  the  New  World. 


CHAPTER    II. 

DOCTRINE    OF    SPIRITS. 

Spirits  permeate  all  animate  and  inanimate  nature  —  Fear  of  these  spirits  —  Contests 
with  spirits  —  Destruction  and  desertion  of  property  —  Spirits  assume  fairy  forms 
—  Demonology  —  Fear  of  evil  spirits  becomes  -worship  —  Doctrine  of  future  re 
wards  and  punishments  —  Land  of  souls  —  Its  localities  and  occupations  —  Diffi 
culties  of  the  journey  thither  —  These  difficulties  dependent  on  the  traditional 
difficulties  of  tribal  migrations  —  Transmigration  of  spirits  —  Disease  produced  by 
them  —  The  confessional  as  a  cure  —  Sorcery  —  Couvade  —  Dreams  a  revelation 
from  spirits  —  Prophecy. 


primitive  man  fills  his  world  with  spirits,  and  his  belief 
in  this  spirit  life  manifests  and  unfolds  itself  in  all  his  varied 
superstitions.     The  places  of  the  living  are  haunted  with  the  -Di 
spirits  of  the  dead. 

The  Illinois,  says  Tonti,  "  fancy  that  the  world  is  full  of 
spirits,  who  preside  over  everything  in  nature,  and  that  they  are 
good  or  bad  according  to  their  caprice.  It  is  upon  this  prin 
ciple  that  all  their  foolish  superstitions  are  grounded."  x 

The  Hurons,  says  Charlevoix,  believe  in  an  infinite  number 
of  subaltern  spirits,  both  good  and  bad.  These  are  objects  of 
their  worship.  Everything  in  nature  has  its  spirit.  Lest  the 
spirits  of  the  victims  of  their  torture  should  remain  around 
the  huts  of  their  murderers  from  a  thirst  of  vengeance,  they 
strike  every  place  with  a  staff  in  order  to  oblige  them  to  de- 
part. 

Mr.  Greenhalgh  relates  the  same  custom  among  the  Iro- 
quois.  He  says,  "  Att  night  we  heard  a  great  noise  as  if  ye 
houses  had  all  fallen,  butt  itt  was  only  ye  inhabitants  driving 
away  ye  ghosts  of  ye  murthered."  2 

1  Tonti's  Account,  7.  2  I  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  16. 

T9 


20  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

The  Iroquois  believe  the  space  between  the  sky  and  earth  is 
full  of  spirits.1  In  every  tribe  a  death  from  time  to  time  adds 
another  ghost  to  the  many  that  have  gone  before.  Continually 
accumulating,  they  form  a  surrounding  population,  usually  in 
visible,  but  occasionally  seen.2 

The  Ottawas  all  believe  in  ghosts.  "  Once,"  said  Mr.  Bar 
ren,  "  on  approaching  in  the  night  a  village  of  Ottawas  in  con 
fusion,  they  were  all  busily  engaged  in  raising  noises  of  the 
loudest  and  most  inharmonious  kind.  Upon  inquiring,  I  found 
that  a  battle  had  been  lately  fought  between  the  Ottawas  and 
Kickapoos,  and  the  object  of  all  this  noise  was  to  prevent  the 
ghosts  of  the  dead  combatants  from  entering  the  village." 3 

The  Choctaws  also  have  their  ghosts  or  wandering  spirits, 
which  can  speak  and  are  visible,  but  not  tangible.  Of  the  be 
lief  of  the  tribes  about  Hudson's  Bay  in  spirits,  Umfreville  tells 
us  they  were  so  influenced  by  these  superstitious  ideas  that 
they  kept  large  fires  burning  all  night,  and  slept  only  in  the 
daytime.  They  often  fired  their  guns  at  them.  Among  the 
tribes  about  Lake  Superior  you  will  frequently  be  awakened 
by  the  firing  of  guns.  On  inquiring  for  the  cause,  you  will  be 
told  they  are  shooting  the  dead  that  trouble  them.  The  Mo 
hawks  would  never  leave  their  dwellings  at  night,  except  in 
companies,  for  fear  of  evil  spirits.4 

In  a  war  expedition,  if  any  warrior  fancies  that  he  has  seen 
the  spirits  of  his  forefathers,  or  heard  their  voices,  he  can 
oblige  the  warriors  to  retreat.  The  Ohio  tribes  were  accus 
tomed  to  bore  holes  in  the  coffin  over  the  eyes  and  mouth 
to  let  the  spirit  pass  in  and  out.5 

Among  the  Eskimos,  spirits  trouble  them  by  seating  them 
selves  near  them  and  making  faces  at  them.  A  meal  is  often 
spoiled  in  this  way.  They  can  generally  drive  them  off  by 
blowing  their  breath  at  them.  6 


1  Hennepin's  Contin.,  55.  2  i  Spencer  Soc.,  234-35. 

3  i  Keating's  St.  Peter's  River,  109.  4  Wood's  N.  E.  Pros.,  86. 

s  Dodge's  Red  Man  O.,  52.  6  Lyon's  Journal,  172. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  21 

"  The  natives  of  Brazil  so  much  dread  the  manes  of  their 
dead,  that  some  of  them  have  been  struck  with  sudden  death 
because  of  an  imaginary  apparition  of  them.  They  try  to  ap 
pease  them  by  fastening  offerings  on  stakes  fixed  in  the  ground 
for  that  purpose."  T 

Among  the  natives  of  Costa  Rica  spirits  are  thought  to  in 
fest  everything.  When  anything  has  been  lying  around  for 
some  time,  they  beat  it  with  sticks  the  day  before  they  use  it, 
to  drive  away  the  spirits.  The  spirits  of  the  dead  are  supposed 
to  remain  near  their  bodies  for  a  year.2 

The  natives  of  the  Pacific  slope  suppose  spirits  to  be  present 
everywhere.  On  the  northwest  coast  of  America,  at  Stony 
Point,  a  burial-place  of  the  Indians  was  considered  to  be 
haunted  by  them,  and  no  Indian  ever  ventured  there.  Their 
usual  superstitious  reverence  for  and  fear  of  anything  belonging 
to  the  "  memelose  tillicums,"  or  dead  people,  prevented  their 
going  near  the  spot.3 

There  was  another  locality  near  there,  on  the  Shoal-Water 
Bay,  the  former  site  of  an  Indian  village  which  had  been  de 
serted  on  account  of  dead  people.  The  Indians  were  afraid  to 
go  back  there  on  account  of  them,  but  if  a  white  man  went 
along  they  were  willing  to  go,  for  the  dead  people  were  afraid 
of  whites.4 

The  idea  they  have  of  their  spirits  is  that  they  are  hovering 
in  the  air;  yet  they  are  puzzled  to  know  where  the  spirits  of 
the  whites  got  their  wings  from.5  Association  of  ideas  had  not 
led  them  to  this  pleasing  fancy  of  cultured  minds. 

Their  superstition  about  names  originates  in  their  belief 
in  spirits.  The  Indians  of  the  Northwest  Territory  always 
change  their  own  names  when  a  relative  dies,  because  they 
think  the  spirits  of  the  dead  will  come  if  they  hear  the 
same  name  called  that  they  were  accustomed  to  hear  before 


1  Nieuhoff's  Brazil,  2;  Churchill's  Coll.  Voy.,  150. 

2  Gabb's  Ind.  Tribes,  503-4.  3  Swan's  Wash.  Ter.,  68. 
4  Ib.,  77.                                                                     5  ib.,  181. 


22  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

death.  For  the  same  reason  they  avoid  speaking  the  name  of 
the  dead  person.1 

They  would  not  let  Mr.  Swan  attend  the  burial  of  their  dead, 
because,  they  said,  the  spirit  of  the  dead  person,  and  hosts  of 
others  hovering  around,  would  see  him  and  be  displeased  at 
his  presence.2 

Among  many  of  the  tribes  their  contests  with  spirits  would 
often  appear  such  realities  that  in  their  defence  of  themselves 
they  would  be  covered  with  blood  from  the  bruises  received  in 
their  violent  gesticulations.  The  spirits  would  often  vanish  by 
turning  themselves  into  stone  with  a  flesh-and-blood  interior.3 

This  superstitious  fear  of  places  supposed  to  be  haunted  by 
spirits  led  to  the  destruction  and  desertion  of  dwelling-places, 
t  and  thus  served  as  a  check  to  material  prosperity  and  became 
an  obstacle  to  progress. 

The  Ojibways  pulled  down  the  house  in  which  any  one  had 
died,  and  chose  another  place  to  live  in  as  far  off  as  possible. 
Even  with  the  death  of  an  infant  the  same  dread  manifested 
itself.  Mr.  Kohl,  while  among  them,  visited  a  neighbor  with  a 
sick  child  in  the  morning.  When  he  returned  in  the  evening 
the  lodge  had  disappeared,  and  all  its  inhabitants  had  departed. 
This  revealed  to  him  the  child's  death.4 

It  is  quite  remarkable  to  discover  this  same  fear  of  the  spirits 
of  harmless  children;  but  its  cause  is  found  in  their  superstitious 
i  ideas  about  disease.  The  Navajos  would  never  occupy  a  lodge 
"~*T*--in  which  a  person  had  died,  but  the  lodge  was  burned.5 

The  Seminoles  immediately  removed  from  a  house  where 
death  had  occurred,  and  where  the  body  was  buried.6 

A  superstition  is  universally  prevalent  among  the  tribes  of 
the  Northwest,  that  when  an  abode  has  been  deserted  on 
account  of  a  death,  an  evil  spirit  dwells  there.  The  New  Eng 
land  tribes  would  never  live  in  a  wigwam  in  which  any  person 
had  died,  but  would  immediately  pull  it  down.7 


1  Swan's  Wash.  Ter.,  189.  a  Ib.,  192.  3  i  Jes.  Rel.,  16. 

*  Kitchi-Gami,  106.  5  4  Schoolcraft,  214.  6  5  ib.,  270. 

7  10  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  1st  Series,  107. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  23 

The  Arkansas  burned  the  lodges  in  which  any  one  had 
died. 

Among  the  Abipones  of  Paraguay,  when  any  one's  life  is 
despaired  of,  the  house  is  immediately  forsaken  by  his  fellow- 
inmates.  The  custom  of  destroying  and  deserting  the  houses 
where  death  has  occurred  has  undoubtedly  arisen  from  a  super 
stitious  fear  of  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  The  same  fear  impels1 
them  to  thrust  the  dead  through  some  aperture  other  than  the 
ordinary  way  of  exit,  and  carry  them  away  to  a  place  of  burial. 
By  closing  securely  the  hole  which  is  made  for  the  exit  of  the 
dead,  the  spirit,  it  was  thought,  would  not  be  able  to  get  back 
again  into  the  lodge.  A  very  curious  custom  sprang  up  in 
connection  with  this,  by  which  they  could  investigate  to  their 
satisfaction  whether  the  spirit  had  made  any  effort  to  return : 
they  sprinkled  ashes  along  the  way  to  the  place  of  burial.1 

The  Ojibways  believe  innumerable  spirits  are  ever  near;  that 
the  earth  teems  with  these  spirits,  good  and  bad.  Those  of 
the  forests  clothe  themselves  with  moss.  During  a  shower  of 
rain  thousands  of  them  find  shelter  in  a  flower.  These  spirits 
assume  fairy  forms,  and  also  appear  by  means  of  transmigra 
tion  in  the  varied  forms  of  insect  life.  The  Ojibway  detects 
their  tiny  voices  in  the  insect's  hum.  Thousands  of  them 
sport  on  a  sunbeam.2 

Thus  the  Ojibways  have  a  fairy  mythology.  Burlington 
Bay  is  a  great  resort  for  these  fairies.  Whenever  they  are 
cornered  they  disappear  under  ground  with  a  rumbling  noise. 
They  are  thought  to  have  great  influence  on  the  lives  of  the 
Indians.  They  attack  their  poultry  and  cattle,  who  soon  there 
after  die.  They  throw  small  stones  through  the  windows  of 
their  houses.  They  dance  over  the  ground  like  the  down  of  a 
thistle.  The  Indians  say  the  fairies  are  enraged  at  white  people 
for  destroying  their  forests. 

The  manifestation  of  spirits  in  fairy-like  forms  is  not  con 
fined  to  the  mythology  of  the  Ojibways.  The  Dacotahs  have 


1  2  Dobrizhoffer,  265.  2  Copway's  Ojibways,  148-49. 


24  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

land  and  water  fairies  of  a  mischievous  character.     They  say 
they  often  see  them.1 

Among  the  Otoes,  a  mound  near  the  mouth  of  White  Stone 
River  is  called  the  mountain  of  Little  People  or  Little  Spirits, 
and  they  believe  that  it  is  the  abode  of  little  devils  in  human 
form,  about  eighteen  inches  high,  and  with  remarkably  large 
heads.  They  are  armed  with  sharp  arrows,  with  which  they 
are  very  skilful,  and  are  always  on  the  watch  to  kill  those  who 
should  have  the  hardihood  to  approach  their  residence.  The 
tradition  is  that  many  have  suffered  from  these  little  evil 
spirits.  This  has  inspired  all  the  neighboring  nations  with 
such  terror  that  no  consideration  could  tempt  them  to  visit 
the  hill.2 

Mr.  Kane  tells  a  legend  of  the  Nasquallies,  who  believed  in 
a  dwarf  people,  that  were  destroyed  by  birds,  who  stuck  their 
quills  into  them.  When  the  quills  were  extracted  by  one  of 
their  tribe,  the  fairies  came  to  life  again.3 

Aisemid  was  a  famous  aerial  spirit  of  the  Western  tribes, 
who  carried  a  curious  little  shell,  and  could  become  visible  or 
invisible  as  he  chose.4 

All  the  Indians  imagine  they  see  small  spirits  skip  about 
over  the  plains  and  suddenly  vanish ;  they  dance  in  the  moon 
light  on  the  tops  of  cliffs.5 

The  Shoshone  legends  people  the  mountains  of  Montana 
with  little  imps,  called  Ninumbees,  two  feet  long,  naked,  and 
with  a  tail.  These  limbs  of  the  evil  one  are  accustomed  to  eat 
up  any  unguarded  infant  they  find,  leaving  in  its  stead  one  of 
their  own  baneful  race  looking  so  much  like  the  child  that  the 
mother  will  return  and  suckle  it.  If  the  little  fiend  seizes  her 
breast  she  dies  thereafter.6 

The  Tinneh  also  people  their  earth,  sea,  and  air  with  spirits 
in  the  shape  of  fairies.7 


1  3  School.,  Ind.  Tribes,  232.  a  I  Lewis  and  Clarke,  52-53,  ed.  1814. 

3  Wanderings,  253.  4  3  School.,  Ind.  Tribes,  523. 

5  3  ib.,  408.  6  3  Bancroft,  Native  Races,  157.  7  3  ib.,  142. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  25 

In  Choctaw  mythology,  itallaboys  are  genii  of  very  diminu 
tive  stature,  but  of  great  power.  From  them  the  conjurers 
receive  their  influence.  They  often  ride  by  moonlight  on 
deer,  with  wands  in  their  hands,  singing  magic  songs.  They 
are  invisible,  intangible,  and  invulnerable.  Thus  we  find 
a  fairy  mythology  similar  to  that  of  Europe  among  the  native 
races  of  America,  embracing  even  the  superstition  of  the 
Changelings. 

"  Sleep  is  thought  by  the  Algic  race  to  be  produced  by  fair 
ies,  the  prince  of  whom  is  Weeng.  The  power  of  this  Indian 
Morpheus  is  exerted  in  a  peculiar  manner  and  by  a  novel 
agency.  Weeng  seldom  acts  directly  in  inducing  sleep,  but  he 
exercises  dominion  over  hosts  of  gnome-like  beings,  who  are 
everywhere  present.  These  beings  are  invisible.  Each  one  is 
armed  with  a  tiny  club,  and  when  he  observes  a  person  sitting 
or  reclining  under  circumstances  favorable  to  sleep,  he  nimbly 
climbs  upon  his  forehead  and  inflicts  a  blow.  The  first  blow 
only  creates  drowsiness ;  the  second  makes  the  person  lethargic, 
so  that  he  occasionally  closes  his  eyelids  ;  the  third  produces 
sound  sleep.  It  is  the  constant  duty  of  these  little  emissaries 
to  put  every  one  to  sleep  whom  they  encounter, — men,  women, 
and  children.  They  hide  themselves  everywhere,  and  are  ready 
to  fly  out  and  exert  their  sleep-compelling  power,  although 
their  peculiar  season  of  action  is  in  the  night.  They  are  also 
alert  during  the  day.  While  the  forms  of  these  gnomes  are 
believed  to  be  those  of  little  or  fairy  men,  the  figure  of  Weeng 
himself  is  unknown,  and  it  is  not  certain  that  he  has  ever  been 
seen.  lagoo  is  said  to  have  seen  him  sitting  upon  a  branch  of 
a  tree.  He  was  in  the  shape  of  a  giant  insect  with  many  wings 
upon  his  back,  which  made  a  low,  deep,  murmuring  sound,  like 
distant  falling  water.  Weeng  is  not  only  the  dispenser  of 
sleep,  but  it  seems  he  is  also  the  author  of  dulness.  If  an 
orator  fails,  he  is  said  to  be  struck  by  Weeng.  If  a  warrior 
lingers,  he  has  ventured  too  near  the  sleepy  god.  If  children 
begin  to  nod  or  yawn,  the  Indian  mother  looks  up  smilingly 


26  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

ami  says  they  have  been  struck  by  Weeng,  and  puts  them  to 
bed." ' 

The  Indian  conception  of  the  action  of  these  invisible  spirit 
ual  agents  is  aptly  illustrated  by  an  Ojibway  legend  of  a  war 
rior's  spirit  which  returned  from  the  field  of  battle  and  found 
his  wife  lamenting  his  death.  He  endeavored  to  talk  to  her, 
but  she  made  no  reply,  except  to  remark  to  one  near  her  that 
she  felt  a  buzzing  in  her  ears.  The  enraged  husband,  who  did 
not  realize  the  change  from  the  material  to  the  spiritual  in  his 
condition,  struck  her  a  blow  on  the  forehead.  She  complained 
of  feeling  a  shooting  pain  there.  Thus  the  spirit  was  foiled  in 
every  attempt  to  make  itself  known.2 

The  Dacotahs  believe  that  a  mother,  when  her  dead  children 
think  of  her,  will  feel  a  pain  in  her  breast,  due  to  the  action  of 
the  invisible  spiritual  agent.3 

Thus  the  far-reaching  effect  of  their  doctrine  of  spiritual 
agency  is  evident. 

Another  form  of  spiritual  manifestation  is  fire.  Fire  has 
always  been  regarded  with  more  or  less  superstitious  awe, 
because  it  is  supposed  to  contain  a  mysterious  spirit.  Among 
the  Hurons,  a  female  spirit  who  was  supposed  to  cause  much 
of  their  sickness  appeared  like  a  flame  of  fire.4 

Of  the  New  England  Indians,  Josselyn  says,  "  They  have  a 
remarkable  observation  of  a  flame  that  appears  before  the  death 
of  an  Indian,  upon  their  wigwams,  in  the  dead  of  night  When 
ever  this  appears,  there  will  be  a  death."  5 

The  Ojibways  will  never  cut  a  stick  that  has  once  been  on  the 
fire.  The  reason  of  this  superstition  is  that  the  fire  has  a  spirit 
that  has  entered  the  wood  and  will  get  cut. 

Among  many  of  the  tribes  of  Americano  cutting  instrument 
could  be  used  for  some  time  after  the  death  of  a  person,  lest  his 
spirit,  the  exact  whereabouts  of  which  they  could  not  determine, 


1  Schoolcraft's  Algic  Res.,  226,  seq.  2  Jones's  Traditions,  120. 

3  Neill's  Minnesota,  70.  «  Jes.  Rel.,  16. 

s  Josselyn's  Two  Voyages,  133. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  27 

should  get  cut.  Every  object  is  supposed  to  be  occupied  by  a 
spirit.  The  intelligence  of  these  spirits  is  aptly  illustrated  by 
the  following  anecdote.  A  certain  missionary  to  the  Califor- 
nians  sent  a  native  with  some  loaves  of  bread,  and  a  letter, 
stating  their  number.  The  messenger  ate  a  part  of  the  bread, 
and  his  theft  was  consequently  discovered.  Another  time,  when 
he  had  to  deliver  four  loaves  he  ate  two  of  them,  but  hid  the 
accompanying  letter  under  a  stone  while  he  was  thus  engaged, 
believing  that  his  conduct  would  not  be  revealed  this  time,  as 
the  letter  had  not  seen  him  eating  the  loaves.1 

This  illustrates  the  natural  tendency  of  the  savage  to  believe 
that  everything  is  inhabited  by  a  spirit. 

While  upon  the  doctrine  of  spirits,  let  us  trace  the  belief 
in  evil  spirits,  and  its  gradual  development  into  demonology. 
Although  there  was  no  moral  dualism  among  the  American 
nations,  whereby  all  evil  had  become  personified  in  a  Satan, 
yet  there  were  many  tribes  who  had  one  or  more  evil  spirits, 
to  whose  visits  they  ascribed  personal  and  tribal  calamities.  I 
shall  not,  however,  dwell  long  on  this  branch  of  their  my 
thology,  as  the  material  for  the  subject  has  been  employed  to  a 
great  extent  in  tracing  their  belief  in  a  future  life,  and  their 
theory  of  disease.  The  Indians  thought  the  inhabitants  of  the 
spirit-land  act  very  much  as  they  did  when  among  the  living. 
Hence  each  individual  could  do  much  harm  as  well  as  good. 
It  was  also  thought  that  the  next  life  was  a  time  for  retribution  ; 
and  this  idea  is  the  key-note  to  demonology  in  primitive  times. 

The  Comanches  stood  in  great  dread  of  evil  spirits,  which 
they  attempted  to  conciliate.  Their  demons  withheld  rain  or 
sunshine.2 

All  the  appeals  of  the  Mosquitoes  are  addressed  to  the  evil 
spirits  called  Wulasha.  These  devils  are  the  causes  of  all 
misfortunes  and  contrarieties  that  happen.  The  fear  of  these 
devils  prevents  them  from  going  out  alone  after  dark.3 


1  Baegert's,  Smith,  Rep.,  1864,  p.  379. 

2  i  Bancroft,  Native  Races,  520.  3  3  ib.,  479. 


28  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

These  Wulasha  are  supposed  to  strive  for  the  possession  of 
the  dead.  They  have  a  religious  ceremony  in  which  we  have 
a  scene  very  similar  to  those  represented  upon  Etruscan  vases. 
Four  naked  men  disguise  themselves  in  performing  their  burial 
rite  so  that  the  Wulasha  will  not  know  them,  and  then  rush 
into  the  hut,  seize  the  dead  body,  drag  it  away,  and  bury  it. 
Thus  the  dead  are  rescued  from  evil  spirits.1 

"They  think  that  evil  spirits  destroy  their  crops  and  do 
them  many  grievous  injuries."2 

Thevet  mentions  an  isle  of  demons  near  Newfoundland 
where  the  Indians  were  so  tormented  with  them  that  they 
would  fall  into  his  arms  for  relief. 

Among  the  Californians  the  most  interesting  feature  of  their 
religion  was  their  belief  in  a  body  of  demons.  These  malig 
nant  spirits  have  taken  entire  possession  of  the  country  about 
the  Devil's  Castle.  In  the  face  of  divers  assertions  that  no 
such  thing  as  a  devil  proper  has  ever  been  found  in  savage 
mythology,  Mr.  Powers  uses  this  language  in  reference  to 
the  belief  of  the  California!!  tribes :  "  Of  course  the  thin  and 
meagre  imagination  of  the  American  savages  was  not  equal  to 
the  creation  of  Milton's  magnificent,  imperial  Satan,  or  of 
Goethe's  Mephistopheles,  with  his  subtle  intellect  and  malig 
nant  mirth  ;  but  in  so  far  as  the  Indian  fiends  or  devils  had  the 
ability  they  are  wholly  as  wicked  as  these.  They  are  totally 
bad,  but  they  are  weak,  undignified,  absurd."  3 
\  Says  Denis  of  the  Brazilian  tribes,  "  They  complain  without 
ceasing  of  the  evil  spirits  that  torment  them.  Houcha  was 
the  chief  of  the  hierarchy  of  devils"  among  the  Brazilians. 

Ercono  is  the  devil  of  the  Moxos,  and  their  foes  were  the 
Conos  tribe.  The  devils  of  the  Taos  were  called  Tupas,  and 
their  enemies  were  the  Tupis.  Chelul  is  the  devil  of  the  Pat- 
agons,  and  a  tribe  called  Cheloagas  were  their  enemies.4 

These  linguistic  evidences  are  very  interesting  in  the  study 

1  i  Bancroft,  744.  »  Roberts's  Narrative,  267. 

3  3  Bancroft,  158.  4  2  Rafmesque,  204. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  29 

of  the  mythologies,  and  are  very  consistent  with  their  animistic 
theories.  How  natural  that  tribal  enemies  should  become  the 
devils  of  the  tribe,  and  their  spirits  attempt  to  revenge  the  in 
juries  of  their  lives ! 

Among  the  more  civilized  peoples  demonology  prevailed, 
and  a  tendency  existed  to  exalt  some  one  demon  to  a  pri 
macy. 

The  Nicaraguans  had  evil  spirits,  and  a  ceremony  for  expel 
ling  them  from  new  dwellings.1 

The  Mayas  of  Yucatan  had  evil  spirits  who  could  be  driven 
off  by  the  sorcerers ;  they  never  came  around  when  their 
fetiches  were  exposed.2  They  had  a  ceremony  for  expelling 
evil  spirits  from  houses  about  to  be  occupied  by  newly-married 
persons.3 

The  Peruvians  had  devils  who  frequently  put  in  an  appear 
ance.  The  Huancas  have  a  legend  that  a  great  number  of 
these  devils  once  assembled  and  did  much  damage.  One  of 
their  devils,  called  Huarivalca,  is  worshipped  to  this  day,  al 
though  he  has  disappeared  and  not  been  seen  lately.  There 
were  spots  which  they  said  showed  evidences  of  his  presence. 
Supay  was  the  prince  of  devils  among  them.4 

The  Toltecs  have  left  a  curious  tradition  of  the  destruction 
of  many  of  their  people  by  a  demon,  who  would  stalk  into  their 
midst,  with  long  bony  arms,  and  dash  many  of  them  lifeless. 
He  kept  up  his  persecution,  appearing  from  time  to  time,  and 
spreading  disease,  fear,  and  destruction,  until  they  fled  from 
their  homes  and  lands.5 

The  Mexicans  had  an  evil  spirit,  which  often  appeared  in 
order  to  terrify  and  injure  them.6 

The  assumption  of  pre-eminence  by  one  or  more  demons  is 
made  easy  by  a  belief  in  a  local  demon,  who  sometimes  assumes 
the  office  of  tribal  demon  or  god.  A  local  demon  or  malev 
olent  spirit  is  usually  ascribed  to  places  where  accidents  re- 

1  2  Bancroft,  785.  2  2  ib.,  697. 

3  Landa,  xxxii.  4  Cieza,  179. 

s  5  Bancroft,  281.  6  I  Clavigero,  Hist,  of  Mexico,  242. 


30  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

suiting  in  death  have  occurred.  An  eddy  in  the  river  where 
floating  sticks  are  whirled  around  and  engulfed  is  not  far  from 
the  place  where  one  of  the  tribe  was  drowned  and  never  seen 
again.  What  more  manifest,  then,  than  that  the  spirit  of  this 
drowned  man  dwells  thereabout,  and  pulls  these  things  under 
the  surface,  and  even  in  revenge  perhaps  seizes  and  drags  down 
persons  who  venture  near?  Soon  there  survives  the  belief  in  a 
water  demon  haunting  the  place.  Some  tribes  had  a  curious 
way  of  finding  drowned  bodies.  They  would  float  a  chip  of 
wood,  watch  where  it  turned  around,  and  drag  there  for  the 
body.1  The  spirits  of  the  drowned,  with  motives  of  revenge, 
dragged  every  object  beneath  the  surface. 

The  primitive  doctrine  of  souls  obliges  the  savage  to  think 
of  the  spirit  of  the  dead  as  close  at  hand.  The  tribes  of  Guiana 
suppose  every  place  is  haunted  where  any  one  has  died.  A 
superstitious  fear  soon  instigates  worship,  and  this  worship, 
beginning  at  the  tombs  and  burial-places  of  the  dead,  develops 
into  the  temple  ritual  of  higher  cultures. 

"  Most  of  the  worship  of  the  natives  of  Guiana,"  says  Mr. 
Brett,  "  is  directed  to  spirits,  and  generally  to  those  of  a  malig 
nant  nature,  which  are  unceasingly  active  in  inflicting  miseries 
on  mankind.  Pain  in  their  language  means  '  the  evil  spirit's 
arrow.'  " 

C  Among  almost  all  of  the  American  tribes  the  worship  of 
spirits  that  are  malicious,  and  not  of  those  that  are  good,  is  a 
*(  characteristic  that  has  been  noticed  with  much  astonishment 
and  commented  upon  by  travellers  and  other  writers.  It  is 
certainly  natural  that  primitive  worship,  which  is  born  of  fear, 
should  be  directed  to  those  malevolent  objects  that  inspire 
fear.  Another  cause  of  this  distinction  in  their  worship  is  un 
doubtedly  to  be  found  in  their  belief  that  the  wicked  spirits 
remain  upon  the  earth,  and  only  the  good  ones  pass  over  into 
a  heavenly  land,  where  they  have  naught  to  do  with  human 
affairs.  The  Ojibways  thought  good  spirits  inhabited  the 

1  i  Alexander's  L'Acadie,  26.  2  Brett's  Ind.  Tribes,  284. 


DOCTRINE   OF  SPIRITS.  31 

upper  empyrean  and  descended  every  few  days  to  inquire  after 
them.  An  invisible  vine  was  supposed  to  form  the  connect 
ing  link,  whose  roots  were  in  the  earth  and  top  in  the  sky.  On 
this  ladder  the  spirits  passed  up  and  down.1  All  ordinary  and 
wicked  spirits,  however,  remained  on  the  earth,  which  was 
called  the  big  plate  where  the  spirits  eat.  Here  we  can  trace 
the  germ  of  the  belief  in  a  difference  of  locality  for  good  and 
evil  spirits.  Among  the  Blackfeet,  demons  are  worshipped 
with  much  ceremony  and  self-torture,  in  which  they  torment 
themselves  without  flinching  or  appearance  of  pain,  in  order  to 
show  the  demons  that  it  is  useless  to  try  to  afflict  them.  There 
are  evidences  of  demon-worship  among  the  Cherokees,  Chick- 
asaws,  Shawnees,  and  many  other  tribes,  which  I  will  not  notice. 
To  use  the  language  of  Mr.  Shea,  "  pure  unmixed  devil-worship 
prevails  through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  land."2  The 
primitive  conception  of  the  spirit-land  is  not,  except  in  a  few 
cases,  of  a  place  in  the  sky,  but  of  a  place  upon  the  earth  and 
earthlike,  where  the  ordinary  avocations  of  life  are  carried  on 
with  less  vicissitudes  and  hardship.3 

Let  us  now  notice  the  different  opinions  entertained  as  to  the  - 
occupations  of  the  spirit-life,  and  their  doctrine  of  rewards  and 
punishments.     Mr.  Tylor  divides  the  subject  of  the  future  life      t- 
into  two  theories,  the  continuance  theory  and  the  retribution 
theojry.     The  first  is  that  the  future  life  is  a  reflection  of  this.  — 
Men   are  to  retain  their  earthly  form   and  earthly  conditions, 
have  around  them  their  earthly  friends,  possess  their  earthly 
property,  and  carry  on  their  earthly  occupations.     The  other 
theory  is  that  the  future  life  is  a  compensation  for  this,  where 
men's  conditions  are  reallotted  as  the  consequence,  and  especi 
ally  as  the  reward  or  punishment,  of  their  earthly  life.     The 
most_rjrimitive  of  these  is  the  continuance  theory.     The  shade 
of  the  Algonkin  hunter  hunts  the  spirits  of  the  beaver  and  the 
elk  with  the  spirits  of  bows  and  arrows,  walking  on  the  spirits 
of  his  snow-shoes  over  the  spirit  of  the  snow.     The  Brazilian 

1  Copway,  164.  2  Catholic  Missions,  25.  3  5  School.,  403. 


32  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

forest  tribes  will  find  a  forest  full  of  calabash-trees  and  game, 
where  the  souls  of  the  dead  will  live.1  Most  of  the  tribes  of 
North  America  thought  that  the  spirits  of  the  dead  remained 
in  form  and  feature  as  they  had  been  in  life.  The  belief  re 
specting  the  land  of  souls  varied  greatly  in  different  tribes. 
The  prevalent  idea  was  that  the  present  life  was  continued 
with  little  change.  The  Ojibways  think  the  soul  after  death 
enters  a  world  where  the  souls  injured  in  life  haunt  it.  Even 
the  phantoms  of  the  wrecks  of  property  destroyed  during  life 
obstruct  its  passage,  and  the  animals  to  which  cruelty  has  been 
shown  in  life  torment  it.  After  death  enemies  are  also  ready 
to  avenge  their  injuries.2  In  this  primitive  form  we  can  see  the 
outline  of  the  doctrine  of  future  punishment. 

Among  the  Ahts,  a  lofty  birth  or  a  glorious  death  gives  the 
right  of  entering  into  a  goodly  land,  where  there  are  no  storms 
or  frost,  but  sunshine  and  warmth.  The  common  people  had 
to  roam  about  the  earth,  in  the  form  of  some  person  or 
animal.3 

The  Brazilian  tribes  think  the  spirits  of  their  chiefs  and  sor 
cerers  enter  a  world  of  enjoyment  while  others  wander  about 
the  graves.4 

The  Manacica  chiefs  were  fed  with  a  gum  distilled  from  cer 
tain  celestial  trees  in  the  spirit-land. 

The  Chibchas  believed  that  men  who  died  in  war,  and  women 
in  childbed,  went  directly  into  bliss,  no  matter  how  wicked  they 
were.5 

The  Natches  and  Tensas  believed  that  after  death  the  souls 
of  their  warriors  went  to  reside  in  the  land  of  the  buffalo ;  but 
those  who  had  not  taken  any  scalps  went  to  reside  in  a  country 
inhabited  by  reptiles.6 

We  find  everywhere  the  prevalence  of  the  idea  that  the  cour 
ageous  would  be  specially  favored  in  the  spirit-world.  This  is 

1  2  Tylor,  Primitive  Culture,  75-77.  2  2  Keating,  255. 

3  3  Bancroft,  521.  *  Bradford's  American  Antiquities,  345. 

5  5  Herrera,  90. 

6  La  Harpe's  Historical  Journal;  French's  Historical  Coll.,  La.,  vol.  iii.  p.  18. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  33 

the  primitive  idea.  The  infliction  of  punishment  for  evil  deeds 
soon  appears,  however.  The  Natches  consigned  the  guilty 
guardian  of  their  sacred  fire,  who  let  it  go  out,  to  one  of  those 
large  mounds  which  are  to  be  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  the  pres 
ent  city  of  Natchez.  There  he  is  doomed  to  languish  forever, 
and  to  be  eternally  debarred  from  entering  the  world  of  spirits, 
unless  he  can  make  fire  with  two  dry  sticks,  which  he  is  ever 
rubbing  together  with  desperate  eagerness.  Now  and  then  a 
slight  smoke  issues  from  the  sticks,  the  wretch  rubs  on  with 
increased  rapidity,  and  just  as  a  bright  spark  begins  to  shoot 
up,  the  sluices  of  his  eyes  open  against  his  will,  and  pour  out  a 
deluge  of  tears  which  drown  the  nascent  fire.  Thus  he  is  con 
demned  to  a  ceaseless  work,  and  to  periodical  fits  of  hope  and 
despair.1 

The  Sioux  are  of  opinion  that  suicide  is  punished  in  the  land 
of  spirits  by  the  ghosts  being  doomed  forever  to  drag  the  tree 
on  which  they  hang  themselves  ;  for  this  reason  they  always 
suspend  themselves  to  as  small  a  tree  as  can  possibly  sustain 
their  weight.2 

The  Mayas  of  Yucatan  believed  in  rewards  and  punishments^ 
in  the  future  life.  Living  in  a  warm  climate,  their  idea  of 
happiness  in  the  future  life  was  to  lie  beneath  the  shade  of 
the  evergreen  and  umbrageous  tree  called  yaxche.  Herrera 
says,  "  The  wicked  were  hungry  and  cold.3  They  think  the 
souls  of  the  deceased  return  to  the  earth  if  they  choose, 
and,  in  order  that  they  may  not  lose  the  way  to  the  domestic 
hearth,  they  mark  the  path  from  the  hut  to  the  tomb  with 
chalk."  4 

The  Peruvians  held  the  doctrine  of  future  rewards  and  pun 
ishments.  The  greatest  enjoyment  of  the  good  was  rest  of 
mind  and  body.5  The  souls  can  wander  about  the  earth, 
although  their  heaven  and  hell  are  above  and  below  the  earth, 


1  Gayarre's  La.,  356.  2  Bradbury's  Travels,  89. 

3  Herrera,  176.  4  Orozco  y  Berra,  157. 

5  i  Garcilasso,  126-27. 


34  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

and  therefore  they  have  anniversaries,  at  which  food  and  sup 
plies  are  furnished  these  souls.1 

The  Chippewyans  think  that  bad  souls  stand  up  to  their  chin 
in  water,  in  sight  of  the  spirit-land,  which  they  can  never  enter. 
Many  believe,  however,  in  transmigration  for  the  wicked. 

The  New  England  tribes  consigned  their  enemies  to  a  place 
of  misery,  but  they  themselves  had  a  very  good  time  in  the 
next  world.2 

Some  tribes  thought  the  wicked  hunted  and  killed,  in  the 
next  world,  animals  that  were  all  skin  and  bone. 

Thus  we  see  the  universal  credence  of  all  the  tribes  in  the 
reality  of  a  spiritual  life  and  its  rewards  and  punishments.  Not 
only  is  that  world  inhabited  by  the  spirits  of  their  dead,  but 
also  all  animate  and  inanimate  substances,  or  shadows  of  sub 
stances.  Its  woods,  streams,  and  lakes  were  more  beautiful 
than  the  earthly.  The  soul's  progress  was  not  stopped  by 
them,  for  they  were  but  the  shadows  of  material  forms. 

"  By  midnight  moons,  o'er  moistening  clews, 

In  vestments  for  the  chase  arrayed, 
The  hunter  still  the  deer  pursues, 
The  hunter  and  the  deer  a  shade." 

The  region  supposed  to  be  haunted  by  the  souls  of  the  dead 
becomes  wider  as  populations  increase  and  scatter.  Several 
counteracting  influences  have  operated,  however,  to  prevent  the 
entire  possession  of  the  earth  by  these  unseen  powers.  The 
most  important  of  these  influences  has  been  the  gradual  sepa 
ration  of  the  spirit-world  from  the  world  of  the  living.  Their 
entire  separation  is  the  last  result  of  causes  that  for  a  time 
only  removed  it  to  localities  proximate  to  the  abodes  of  the 
living. 

As  nomadic  tribes  change  their  habitat,  the  spirit-land  di 
verges  from  the  abode  of  the  living;  and  the  difficulties  of  the 
road  thither  depend  upon  the  nature  of  the  hardships  endured 


1  Jos.  D'Acosta,  bk.  5,  chap.  7.  a  Wood's  N.  E.  Pros.,  104. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  35 

in  migration.  Most  of  the  traditions  agree  that  the  spirits  on 
their  journey  to  the  spirit-land  were  beset  with  difficulties  and 
perils.  There  was  generally  a  stream  of  water  to  cross,  and 
only  a  narrow  and  slippery  log  to  bridge  the  stream.  Often 
they  had  to  pass  between  moving  rocks,  which  momentarily 
crashed  together,  grinding  to  atoms  the  less  nimble  of  the 
pilgrims.1 

As  populations  increase,  burial-places  are  set  apart,  and  the 
world  of  the  dead  becomes  distinct  from  that  of  the  living.  In 
many  cases  the  world  of  the  dead,  still  near  at  hand,  is  an  adja 
cent  mountain.  The  genesis  of  this  belief  is  clear.  The  Caribs 
buried  their  chiefs  on  mountains  ;  the  Comanches,  on  the  highest 
hill  in  the  neighborhood  ;  the  Patagonians,  on  the  summits  of 
the  highest  hills.2  The  Tupinambas  located  their  heaven  behind 
the  great  mountains  which  surrounded  their  country.  The 
Mexicans  also  buried  on  their  high  places.  Where  caves  are 
used  for  interments,  they  become  the  supposed  places  for  the 
dead  ;  hence  develops  the  notion  of  a  subterranean  other  world. 
The  natives  of  Terra  del  Fuego  believe  that  some  of  them  after 
death  are  to  return  to  those  divine  caverns  where  they  were 
created  and  their  deities  reside.3  Many  of  the  savages  of  South 
America  have  a  subterranean  spirit-world  where  the  pursuits 
are  the  same  as  in  life.4  The  Zufiis  had  removed  their  spirit- 
world  to  a  comfortable  distance,  where  they  would  not  be 
troubled  with  them  daily;  but  they  annually  assembled  on 
the  top  of  a  lofty  mesa,  and  spent  the  entire  day  in  communi 
cation  with  the  spirits  of  the  departed,  who  were  supposed  on 
that  day  to  revisit  that  locality  and  hold  converse  with  their 
friends  and  relatives,  who  carried  them  presents.  This  supersti 
tion  is  very  similar  to  the  custom  of  Roman  Catholics  on  All 
Souls'  Day. 

The  Dacotahs  think  each  human  body  has  four  souls.  After 
death  one  wanders  about  the  earth,  the  second  watches  the 


1  Parkman's  Jesuits,  vol.  Ixxxii.  2  i  Spencer  Soc.,  218. 

3  I  ib.,  219.  4  2  Dobriz.,  269. 


36  J)RL}riTIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

body,  the  third  hovers  over  the  village,  whilst  the  fourth  goes 
to  the  land  of  spirits.1 

Here  we  have  a  curious  illustration  of  continuous  survivals 
of  more  primitive  beliefs.  The  soul  which  watches  over  the 
body  represents  the  most  primitive  form  of  belief.  The  soul 
which  hovers  over  the  village  represents  one  remove  from  the 
primitive  belief.  The  soul  which  wanders  about  the  earth  repre 
sents  another  remove,  and  the  fourth  stage  of  progress  assigns 
it  to  a  distant  land  of  spirits  ;  but  the  three  other  beliefs  are 
still  surviving,  and  are  the  causes  of  their  belief  in  this  quadru- 
plication  of  souls.  The  last  forms  of  belief  are  undoubtedly 
due  to  the  increasing  tendency  to  migration  as  population  in 
creases. 

A  tribe  that  leaves  its  accustomed  seat  will  have  ever-recur 
ring  memories  connected  with  that  locality.  They  will  desire 
when  the  spirit  leaves  the  body  to  go  back  and  visit  the  spirits 
of  their  ancestors  and  friends,  whose  souls  are  still  living  at 
their  places  of  sepulture.  An  impulse  is  given  to  this  belief 
by  the  superstitious  fear  of  the  dead  by  the  living,  who  are  very 
glad  to  get  rid  of  them  in  this  way. 

Hence  the  tendency  to  locate  the  spirit-land  elsewhere  than 
in  the  midst  of  the  living  has  been  due  to  the  migratory  move 
ments  of  tribes  that  are  nomadic,  or  to  the  separation  of  the 
places  of  burial  among  populous  settled  peoples. 

As  migrations  have  proceeded  in  all  directions,  there  must 
arise  different  beliefs  about  the  direction  of  the  world  of  spirits. 
In  South  America  the  Chonos  and  Araucanians  go  after  death 
towards  the  west ;  whereas  the  Peruvians  went  east.  The 
Central  Americans  went  towards  the  east,  while  the  Otomacks 
of  Guiana  went  west.  In  North  America  the  Chinooks  have 
their  paradise  in  the  south,  the  Ojibways  in  the  west,  where  the 
brave  and  good  spend  their  time  in  pleasures,  but  cowards  and 
the  wicked  wander  about  in  darkness.2 

The  New  England  tribes  thought  the  souls  of  the  dead  went 

1  Eastman's  Legends,  129.  2  Jones's  Ojibways,  104. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  37 

to  the  southwest,  where  were  their  forefathers'  souls.1  The 
souls  of  murderers  and  thieves,  however,  wandered  restlessly.2 

Among  many  tribes  the  spirit-land  is  far  distant  from  the 
place  of  the  living.  The  soul  is  believed  to  take  a  long  jour 
ney,  only  after  the  tribe  has  taken  a  long  journey  away  from 
the  place  where  their  ancestors  lived  and  died.  It  is  generally 
to  see  its  ancestors.  If  the  tribe  has  formerly  lived  upon  an 
island,  their  heaven  is  upon  an  island,  as  among  the  Caribs.  If 
the  tribe  in  its  migrations  has  crossed  a  stream  of  water,  as  is 
generally  the  case,  then  the  soul  has  a  Stygian  flood  to  en 
counter.  If  the  tribe  has  crossed  dangerous  and  difficult  moun 
tains,  and  has  barely  escaped  their  dangers,  then  a  Scylla  and 
Charybdis  stand  in  the  path  of  the  soul. 

The  Potawatomies  think  the  souls  of  the  dead  cross  a  large 
stream  over  a  log  which  rolls  so  that  many  slip  off  into  the 
water.  One  of  their  ancestors  went  to  the  edge  of  the  stream, 
but,  not  liking  to  venture  on  the  log,  he  came  back  two  days 
after  his  death.  He  reported  that  he  heard  the  sounds  of  the 
drum  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  to  the  beat  of  which  the 
souls  of  the  dead  were  dancing.3 

The  Ojibways  have  traditions  of  the  return  of  souls  who  have 
come  to  this  stream,  across  which  lies  a  serpent,  according  to 
their  mythology,  over  whose  body  they  must  pass.  A  big 
strawberry  lies  by  the  side  of  the  way  to  the  spirit-land,  which 
affords  them  refreshment  on  the  journey.4 

The  soul  of  the  Manacicas  of  Brazil  is  carried  on  the  back 
of  a  sorcerer  to  the  spirit-land.  Over  hills  and  valleys,  across 
rivers,  swamps,  and  lakes,  to  the  Pass  Perilous  they  fly.  Here 
they  have  to  get  by  a  god  Tatusio,  who,  if  not  satisfied  with  the 
conduct  of  the  spirit,  casts  it  into  the  flood. 

These  sorcerers  who  pretend  to  take  charge  of  the  soul,  and 
when  they  have  deposited  it  safely  in  the  future  home  return 
to  the  earth,  frequently  come  back,  and  say  that  Tatusio  took 


1  Williams,  Key  to  the  Languages,  21.  2  Ib.,  113. 

s  I  Keating,  173.  4  Tanner's  Narrative,  290. 


38  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

it  away  from  them  and  threw  it  into  the  water.  They  then  ask 
for  a  canoe  from  the  relatives,  that  they  may  go  back  with  it 
and  fish  out  the  soul.  This  artifice  is  successful  in  getting 
them  a  good  canoe,  which  they  keep.1 

The  Chibchas  had  a  great  river  that  souls  had  to  pass  over 
on  floats  made  of  cobwebs.  On  this  account  they  never  killed 
spiders.  In  the  future  state,  each  family  had  its  own  location, 
as  in  this  life.2 

The  Araucanian  soul  is  borne  across  the  Stygian  flood  by  a 
whale,  which  does  not  succeed,  however,  in  protecting  it  from  a 
mythical  hag,  who  tears  out  one  eye  if  a  toll  is  not  paid  her.3 

The  Mohaves  believed  that  when  their  friends  died  they  de 
parted  to  a  certain  high  hill  in  the  western  section  of  their  terri 
tory  ;  that  they  there  pursued  their  avocation  free  from  the  ills 
and  pains  of  their  present  life,  if  they  had  been  good  and  brave. 
But  they  held  that  all  cowardly  Indians  were  tormented  with 
hardships  and  failures,  sickness  and  defeats.  This  hill,  or  hades, 
they  never  dared  visit.  It  was  thronged  with  thousands  who 
were  ready  to  wreak  vengeance  upon  the  mortal  who  dared  to 
intrude  upon  this  sacred  ground.4  The  souls  of  those  cremated 
were  wafted  thither  on  the  curling  smoke. 

The  Blackfeet  believe  that  the  spirits  of  the  dead  have  to 
scramble  up  the  projecting  sides  of  a  steep  mountain  before 
they  can  view  the  land  of  their  ancestral  spirits.  Those  who 
have  imbrued  their  hands  in  the  blood  of  their  tribesmen  fall 
down  this  mountain-side,  and  can  never  reach  the  top.  Women 
who  have  been  guilty  of  infanticide  never  even  reach  this  moun 
tain,  but  wander  about  the  earth  with  branches  of  the  mountain 
pine  tied  to  their  legs.  The  cries  of  wicked  spirits  are  often 
heard  above  the  country.  Those  that  reach  the  happy  land 
can  have  plenty  of  mushrooms,  which  are  considered  a  great 
delicacy  by  Blackfeet  spirits.  He  who  has  destroyed  his  neigh 
bor's  canoe  stumbles  over  its  wreck,  which  he  cannot  pass.  The 


1  3  Southey,  186-87.  2  Bollaert,  12.  3  2  Molina,  91-92. 

4  Captivity  of  the  Oatman  Girls,  233. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  39 

spirits  of  animals  and  men  injured  in  life  haunt  him.  All  the 
acts  of  life  are  deeply  impressed  on  the  green  leaf  of  his 
memory.1 

The  Chippewyan,  living  in  the  regions  of  almost  perpetual 
snow,  wants  to  find  a  heaven  in  some  more  genial  clime,  and  as 
his  spirit  moves  onward  the  ice  grows  thinner,  the  air  warmer, 
the  trees  taller.  Birds  of  gay  colors  plume  themselves  in  the 
warm  sun.  The  swallow  and  the  martin  skim  along  the  level 
of  the  green  vales.  The  trees  no  longer  crack  beneath  the 
weight  of  icicles  and  snow,  and  he  sees  no  more  the  spirits  of 
the  departed  dancing  on  the  skirts  of  the  northern  clouds.  His 
spirit  craves  a  wanner  heaven.  A  stone  canoe  is  ready  to  take 
him  over  the  dividing  stream.  No  Charon  demands  a  fare,  but 
onward  speeds  the  magic  craft,  with  no  visible  impelling  force, 
and  lands  him  on  the  blessed  shore,  if  he  has  not  slaughtered 
more  oxen  than  he  could  eat,  or  speared  salmon  to  be  devoured 
by  the  brown  eagle,  or  gathered  rock-moss  to  rot  in  the  rain. 
These  great  crimes,  in  the  moral  code  of  the  Blackfeet,  will 
sink  the  canoe,  and  its  occupant  will  flounder  about  in  the 
water  black  with  the  heads  of  the  unhappy.2 

The  Mosquito  heaven  was  across  a  broad  stream. 

The  future  abode  of  Mexicans  had  three  divisions.  Their 
elysium  was  open  to  the  souls  of  warriors,  who  were  borne 
thither  in  the  arms  of  Teoyaomique,  Queen  Consort  of  the 
God  of  War.  Here  awaited  them  the  presents  sent  by  loving 
friends  below.  These  souls  never  tired,  for  they  spent  their 
days  marching  around  the  zenith  as  an  escort  to  the  sun.  At 
evening  they  dispersed  to  the  chase,  or  to  the  shady  grove, 
after  having  delivered  their  precious  solar  charge  to  a  new 
escort,  composed  of  women  who  had  died  in  childbed,  who 
conducted  it  to  its  nightly  couch  of  quetzal  feathers,  in  which 
it  reclined. 

Although  this  is  represented  as  the  highest  heaven,  its  joys 
would  not  appear  as  great  to  us  as  those  of  Tlalocan,  where 

1  i  Jones's  Traditions,  245-50.  2  i  ib.,  256-63. 


40  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

happiness  reigned  supreme  and  sorrow  was  unknown.  To  this 
place  were  assigned  those  killed  by  lightning,  and  the  drowned, 
and  those  dying  of  long  and  incurable  skin  diseases.  Children 
sacrificed  to  Tlaloc  played  about  its  gardens.1 

The  Greeks  assigned  children  to  Erebus,  as  a  penalty  to 
prevent  infanticide  ;  but  the  Mexicans  encouraged  their  sacrifice 
by  assigning  them  to  this  place  of  happiness. 

The  third  place,  Mictlan,  was  a  land  of  darkness  and  desola 
tion,  wherein  were  the  souls  of  those  who  died  of  old  age,  or 
those  who  died  in  bed.  There  was  no  mercy  in  the  Aztec 
Tartarus  for  those  who  died  in  bed  among  a  race  of  warriors. 
The  Mexican  souls  had  to  pass  between  two  mountains  that 
confronted  each  other.  They  were  subjected  to  cutting  winds. 
They  had  passes  given  them  by  the  priest,  who  thrust  little  slips 
of  paper  in  their  hands.  The  journey  ended  with  the  passage 
of  the  "  nine  waters."2 

In  the  Mexican  heaven  there  were  various  degrees  of  happi 
ness.  The  high-born  warrior  who  fell  gloriously  in  battle  did 
not  meet  on  equal  terms  the  base-born  rustic  who  died  in  his 
bed.  The  ordinary  avocations  of  life  were  not  dispensed  with, 
but  the  man  took  up  his  bow  again,  the  woman  her  spindle. 

The  road  to  paradise  was  represented  to  be  full  of  dangers. 
Storms,  monsters,  deep  waters,  and  whirlpools  met  the  traveller 
on  his  way,  who,  however,  almost  always  succeeded  in  reach 
ing  his  destination,  after  having  suffered  more  or  less  maltreat 
ment  on  the  way.3 

The  Northern  Californians  had  a  heaven  where  all  met  after 
death  to  enjoy  a  life  free  from  want;  but  when  the  soul  first 
escaped  from  the  body,  Omaha,  an  evil  spirit,  hovered  near, 
ready  to  pounce  upon  it  and  carry  it  off.4 

Among  the  natives  about  Clear  Lake  there  is  no  contest,  but 
a  coyote  waits  for  the  soul  and  captures  it :  a  good  spirit  may 
redeem  it  by  paying  a  price.  They  kept  up  many  demonstra- 

1  3  Bancroft,  532-34.  2  2  ib.,  604-5.  3  3  ib-»  5*  i-'3- 

4  3  il'-,  523- 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  41 

tions  about  the  grave  for  three  days,  to  scare  away  coyotes.1 
This  superstition  has  arisen  from  the  fact  that  the  coyotes  dig 
up  the  dead  and  devour  them. 

The'Winnebagoes  keep  a  fire  on  graves  for  four  nights  after 
burial,  and  keep  the  grass  dug  up,  that  bad  spirits  can  have 
nothing  to  cling  to.2 

The  Eurocs  burn  a  light  on  the  grave,  and  this  beacon  is  kept 
burning  a  longer  time  in  the  case  of  the  wicked,  because  they 
are  thought  to  have  a  longer  and  more  difficult  passage  to  the 
spirit-land.  Many  are  compelled  to  return,  and  transmigrate 
into  birds,  beasts,  and  insects.3 

The  Kailtas  are  carried  to  the  spirit-land  by  a  little  bird, 
but  if  impeded  by  sins  a  hawk  will  certainly  overtake  them, 
and  end  their  journey  heavenward.  The  Cahroc  path  of  the 
dead  branches  into  two  roads,  one  bright  with  flowers  and  lead 
ing  to  the  great  western  land  beyond  the  great  waters,  the 
other  filled  with  thorns  and  briers,  and  the  haunt  of  deadly 
serpents. 

The  Maricopa  paradise  is  at  their  ancient  home  on  the  banks 
of  the  Colorado.  Tnere  the  spirits  live  on  the  sand-hills. 

The  Yumas  located  their  paradise  in  a  pleasant  valley,  hidden 
in  one  of  the  canons  of  the  Colorado,  and  they  had  gone  so 
far  as  to  separate  the  wheat  from  the  chaff,  for  their  wicked 
were  shut  up  in  a  dark  cavern,  within  view  of  their  paradise, 
but  its  pleasures  they  could  never  enjoy,  although  within  sight. 
The  Navajo  spirits  had  to  travel  far  to  reach  their  heaven. 
They  had  to  cross  an  extensive  marsh,  in  which  many  were 
bemired;  but  if  they  got  through,  they  soon  arrived  at  the  home 
of  two  spirits, — one  male  and  one  female, — who  sat  combing 
their  hair.  After  receiving  a  lecture  on  cleanliness,  and  obey 
ing  its  injunctions,  they  passed  on  to  the  happy  land.  The  Co- 
manche  spirits  have  not  yet  been  confined  to  any  locality,  but 
want  much  more  freedom  than  the  circumscribed  bounds  of 
an  Indian  heaven  can  give  them :  so  they  hunt  on  the  happy 

1  3  Bancroft,  523.  2  Eastman's  Chicora,  21.  33  Bancroft,  524. 


42  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

prairies  of  the  setting  sun,  where  the  buffalo  leads  the  hunter 
in  the  glorious  chase,  but  at  night  they  come  back  to  their  old 
homes  and  stay  till  break  of  day.1 

The  souls  of  the  Sonora  Indians  dwell  among  the  cliffs  of 
their  mountains,  and  the  echoes  there  are  their  clamoring 
voices.  Echoes  throughout  the  Americas  are  the  voices  of 
spirits.  In  Nayarit  the  natives  thought  that  most  souls  went  to 
a  common  resort  near  their  living  habitat,  but  returned  in  the 
daytime  in  the  shape  of  flies,  in  order  to  get  something  to  eat.2 

The  Neeshenams  had  a  heaven  a  long  way  off,  and  a  stream 
to  cross  before  getting  to  it.  Their  great  ancestor,  Eicut,  pre 
sides  over  that  happy  land,  whither  he  was  led  by  his  beloved 
wife,  Yoatotowee.  When  she  died,  his  grief  knew  no  bounds ; 
the  light  was  gone  from  his  eyes,  the  world  was  black  and 
dreary.  He  fell  into  a  trance ;  Yoatotowee  came  and  stood  be 
side  him.  He  saw  her;  she  turned,  and  started  for  heaven,  the 
dance-house  of  ghosts.  Eicut  followed  her  into  the  spirit-land.3 

The  belief  of  the  Mohicans  regarding  the  separation  of  the 
soul  is  that  it  goes  westward  on  leaving  the  body.  There  it  is 
met  with  great  rejoicing  by  the  others  who  died  previously. 
There  they  wear  black  otter-  or  bear-skins,  which  among  them 
are  signs  of  gladness.4 

The  Creeks  believe  the  soul  at  death  goes  to  the  west  and 
joins  its  friends.5 

When  a  Kioway  dies,  his  spirit  travels  toward  sunset.  A 
high  mountain  stands  on  the  confines  of  the  other  world,  upon 
which  is  a  sentinel  who  informs  the  spirits  when  their  friends  are 
coming,  and  the  spirits,  with  rejoicings,  go  forth  to  meet  them. 

The  Dog-Ribs  had  located  their  heaven  a  great  way  off,  for 
Chappewee,  their  ancestor,  when  his  spirit  took  the  long  jour 
ney,  carried  three  thousand  roasted  porpoises  and  thirty  whales 
to  supply  him  food  on  the  way.6 


'  3  Bancroft,  426-28.  2  3  ib.,  528.  3  3  ib.,  531-32. 

*  Wassenaer's  Historic,  Tr.  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  Hi.  p.  29. 

s  Hawkins's  Sketch,  80.  6  2  Jones,  2. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  43 

The  heaven  of  the  Tondanwandies  is  not  far  off,  for  they 
bury  their  dead  in  the  morning,  that  the  deceased  persons  may 
have  time  before  night  to  reach  their  relations  in  another  world.1 
The  peaks  of  Costa  Rica  are  the  resort  of  their  spirits,  and  their 
revellings  can  be  heard  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  more.2 

The  Greenlanders  assign  two  retreats  for  their  departed 
souls;  one  the  centre  of  the  earth,  the  way  to  which  appears 
difficult,  because  upon  the  path  at  a  certain  point  they  slide 
down  a  rocky  defile,  leaving  blood  all  along  the  way.3  It  takes 
about  five  days  to  make  this  slide.4 

Their  spiritual  body  has  evidently  not  been  wholly  demate- 
rialized.  The  second  abode  for  the  dead  is  among  the  heavenly 
bodies,  the  path  to  which  is  along  the  Milky  Way,  called  the 
path  of  the  dead  by  this  new  school  of  Eskimo  philosophers. 
It  is  curious  to  note  here  the  prevalence  of  these  two  opinions 
upon  the  locality  of  their  spirit-world.  They  have  removed  it 
from  their  living  abode,  and  the  first  remove  has  evidently  been 
to  a  subterranean  abode,  which  is  quite  natural  to  a  people 
living  in  underground  houses  a  portion  of  the  year.  The  new 
sect,  becoming  dissatisfied  with  this  subterranean  paradise,  have 
turned  it  into  a  gloomy  underground  region.  Mr.  Crantz 
noticed  that  these  two  sects  were  quite  hostile  upon  this  subject. 

Many  mourning  ceremonies  had  reference  to  the  journey  to 
the  spirit-land.  In  the  burial  ceremonies  of  the  natives  of 
Alaska,  if  too  many  tears  were  shed,  they  said  that  the  road  of 
the  dead  would  be  muddy,  but  a  few  tears  just  laid  the  dust.5 

Many  traditions  of  a  journey  to  the  spirit-land  and  return  are 
found.  The  following  story  is  told  of  an  old  Indian  chief  of 
the  Algonkins  of  Northern  New  Brunswick.  His  favorite  son 
died ;  whereupon  the  father,  with  a  party  of  friends,  set  out  for 
the  land  of  souls  to  recover  him.  They  had  to  wade  through 
a  shallow  lake  several  days'  journey.  This  they  did,  sleeping 
at  night  on  platforms  of  poles,  which  supported  them  above  the 


1  Evans,  Pedest.  Tour,  57.  2  Gabb,  506.  3  Egede's  Greenland,  205. 

4  i  Crantz,  186.  s  Dall,  Alaska,  423. 


44  PRIMITIVE   SUPERSTITIONS. 

water.  At  length  they  arrived  in  the  realms  of  Papkootparout, 
the  Indian  Pluto,  who  rushed  at  them  with  his  war-club  up 
raised,  but  relented  before  striking.  The  bereaved  father  now 
begged  hard  for  his  son's  soul,  which  was  given  him  in  the 
shape  of  a  nut,  which  he  was  to  insert  in  his  son's  body,  and 
he  would  come  to  life.  The  adventurers  returned  to  earth, 
and  the  father,  who  wished  to  take  part  in  a  dance  of  rejoicing 
which  was  begun,  handed  the  bag  containing  the  soul  to  a  squaw 
to  hold  for  him.  She  through  curiosity  opened  the  bag,  and 
away  went  the  soul  to  the  realms  of  the  Indian  god  of  the  dead.1 

A  Shawnee  tradition  tells  of  a  brother  who  followed  his  sister 
into  the  land  of  spirits,  seized  her  in  the  midst  of  a  spirit-dance, 
placed  her  soul  in  a  hollow  reed,  covered  the  orifice  with  the 
end  of  his  finger,  and  brought  her  back  to  the  earth,  where  gay 
festivities  were  indulged  in  on  account  of  her  return.2 

Such  stories  of  journeys  to  the  spirit-land  and  a  return  are 
found  in  nearly  every  tribe. 

Another  destiny  of  the  human  spirits  was  transmigration. 
The  transmigration  of  souls  explains  and  renders  intelligible  all 
the  various  superstitions  of  pagan  religions.  A  belief  in  this 
doctrine  is  found  in  every  American  tribe.  The  most  primitive 
form  of  the  belief  was  the  most  comprehensive.  Before  the 
separation  of  the  abode  of  spirits  from  the  abode  of  the  living, 
disembodied  spirits  were  everywhere  present,  seeking  embodi 
ment  in  some  more  material  form.  As  the  spiritual  world  be 
came  separated  and  became  the  abode  of  deserving  souls,  the 
undeserving  souls  were  left  to  transmigrate  until  they  were 
better  fitted  for  the  abode  of  the  blest.  The  wicked  generally 
entered  noxious  animals ;  those  not  so  bad,  the  nobler  animals 
and  the  bodies  of  infants. 

Mr.  Schoolcraft  says,  "  The  Indians  of  the  United  States  be 
lieve  in  the  transmigration  of  souls.  The  soul  is  thought  to 
pass  from  one  object  to  another,  generally  into  the  animal  cre- 


1  Le  Clerc,  in  Parkman's  Jes.,  Ixxxiii. 

2  2  Gregg's  Commerce  of  Prairies,  239. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  45 

ation.  The  individual  can  often  determine  the  form  of  his 
future  life  for  himself."  x 

The  Northwestern  tribes  believe  in  transmigration;  their  de 
parted  souls  can  come  back  in  human  shape.  The  priests  can 
transfer  a  soul  released  into  a  living  body  by  blowing  it  through 
their  hands. 

The  medicine-men  of  the  Cocomes  pretend  to  receive  the 
spirit  of  the  dead  in  their  hands,  and  are  able  to  transfer  it  to 
any  one,  who  then  takes  the  name  of  the  dead  person.2 

When  a  body  is  burned  among  the  Tacullies,  the  priest  re 
ceives  the  spirit  of  the  deceased  into  his  hands,  and,  with  a 
motion  as  though  throwing  it,  he  blows  the  spirit  into  some 
person  selected,  who  takes  the  name  of  the  deceased  in  addition 
to  his  own.3 

Algonkin  women  who  desired  to  become  mothers  flocked  to 
the  couch  of  those  about  to  die,  in  hope  that  the  vital  principle 
as  it  passed  from  the  body  would  enter  theirs.4 

A  sorcerer  among  the  Iroquois  pretended  he  was  once  an 
oki  (spirit)  dwelling  under  the  earth  with  a  female  spirit;  that 
both  of  them  ascended  to  the  earth  and  hid  beside  a  path  until 
a  woman  passed,  when  they  entered  into  her.  After  a  time 
they  were  born,  but  not  until  he  had  quarrelled  with  and  stran 
gled  his  female  companion,  who  came  dead  into  this  world.5 

Permanent  transition,  new  birth,  or  reincarnation  of  human 
souls  is  supposed  to  occur  by  the  transmigration  of  the  soul  of 
a  deceased  person  into  the  body  of  an  infant.  Many  tribes 
buried  dead  children  by  the  wayside,  that  their  souls  might 
enter  into  mothers  passing  by,  and  so  be  born  again. 

The  Nootkans  accounted  for  the  fact  that  a  distant  tribe 
spoke  the  same  language  as  themselves,  by  declaring  them  to 
be  the  spirits  of  their  dead. 

The  Thlinkeets  believe  in  the  transmigration  of  the  soul.  It 
is  not  uncommon  to  hear  a  poor  Thlinkeet  say,  when  speaking 

1  I  Schoolcraft,  33.  2  4  U.  S.  Ex.  Exp.,  453. 

3  Hazlitt,  Br.  Columbia,  32.  *  Brinton,  270. 

s  Parkman's  Jes.,  92. 
4 


46  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

of  a  rich  and  prosperous  family,  "  When  I  die,  I  should  like  to 
be  born  into  that  family."  x 

The  Greenlanders  think  the  soul  may  be  taken  out  of  the 
body  and  replaced;  may  be  divided  into  parts  and  repaired 
when  it  loses  a  part.  It  can  forsake  the  body  during  sleep, 
and  be  exchanged  for  that  of  some  animal.  They  believe  in 
the  migration  of  souls.  Widows  make  use  of  this  doctrine 
to  their  great  advantage;  for  if  one  of  them  can  persuade 
any  father  that  the  soul  of  her  deceased  child  has  migrated 
into  his  son,  or  that  the  spirit  of  his  deceased  offspring  ani 
mates  the  body  of  one  of  her  children,  the  man  will  always 
do  his  best  to  befriend  the  child  and  widow.2  As  soon  as  a 
person  dies,  the  soul  is  supposed  to  animate  a  new-born  in 
fant.3  A  young  Eskimo  woman,  by  the  name  of  Avigiatsiak, 
had  been  a  whale  and  a  seal.  When  she  was  a  seal  she  was 
caught,  killed,  and  her  head  thrown  beneath  a  bench.  From 

o 

thence  she  slipped  into  the  body  of  the  wife  of  the  man  who 
harpooned  her,  and  was  born  a  human  being.4 

Among  the  Kolushes  the  mother  often  dreams  that  she  has 
seen  the  deceased  relative  who  will  transmit  his  soul  to  her 
child.  In  Vancouver's  Island,  inm  1860,  a  lad  was  very  much 
regarded  by  the  Indians,  because  he  had  a  mark  similar  to  a 
chief  who  had  died  four  generations  before.  They  thought  the 
dead  chief  had  returned  again.5 

The  celebrated  Dacotah,  Cloudy  Sky,  had  lived  three  times 
on  the  earth.  When  his  body  was  laid  upon  the  scaffold  at  his 
first  death,  his  spirit  enlisted  in  the  army  of  the  enemies  of  the 
storm-god,  and  as  they  flew  to  battle  with  their  shields  before 
their  breasts,  the  wind  tore  up  the  trees,  and  the  waters  cast 
their  angry  billows  at  the  cloud ;  but  the  contest  was  brief,  and 
they  were  conquerors,  and  the  bow  of  bright  colors  rested  be 
tween  the  heavens  and  earth.  It  was  these  cloud-battles  that 
gave  him  his  name  of  Cloudy  Sky.6 

A  curious  tradition  among  the  Crows  relates  the  incarnation 


1  Dall,  423.  2  I  Crantz,  185.  3  i  ib.,  342. 

*  Rink,  450-51.  s  2  Tylor,  3-4.  6  Eastman,  229. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  47 

of  Storm  Child.  Black  clouds  gathered  in  midwinter;  the 
thunder  rolled  and  the  lightning  flashed,  while  strange  noises 
alarmed  the  Crows.  An  inky  cloud  covered  the  peak  of  their 
mountain,  and  from  its  midst  reached  two  long  arms  that  de 
posited  an  infant  on  the  earth.  Soon  the  mysterious  child 
which  was  given  disappeared  in  the  vapor.  An  old  squaw  who 
had  not  borne  children  for  years  stood  looking  on.  No  sooner 
did  she  see  the  child  disappear  in  the  vapor  than  she  felt  herself 
seized  with  violent  labor-pains,  and  was  delivered  of  a  female 
child,  perfectly  green,  like  grass.  The  Indians  all  said  it  was 
the  same  child  that  had  been  in  the  cloud,  and  that  the  mys 
terious  hands  had  no  sooner  deposited  it  than  it  was  trans 
ferred  to  the  woman.  The  squaw  persisted  that  it  was  not 
the  child  of  a  man,  though  she  was  married.  The  Indians 
named  it  the  Storm  Child.  Says  Mr.  Belden,  "  I  often  saw 
the  Storm  Child,  and  she  is  greatly  feared  and  respected  by 
her  tribe."  * 

The  Chibchas  of  Bogota  believe  in  transmigration  of  souls 
into  infants.2 

Mr.  Southey  says  "  the  Tucamas  of  Brazil  hold  the  metemp 
sychosis,"  or  transmigration  of  human  souls  into  human  bodies.3 

The  Guaycurus4  and  the  Guaranies  believed  in  the  same 
doctrine.  "  The  Conchas  held  for  certain  that  the  dead  again 
entered  the  bodies  of  those  who  were  born."  5 

The  Peruvians  thought  the  souls  of  the  dead  returned  after  a 
time,  and  entered  the  bodies  of  infants  at  their  birth.6 

These  few  illustrations,  selected  from  many  more,  will  suffice 
to  show  the  prevalence  of  the  doctrine  of  transmigration,  or  re 
incarnation  of  human  souls  in  human  bodies.  Let  us  now 
notice  another  form  of  the  doctrine,  the  transmigration  of  human 
souls  into  animals.  All  peoples  in  early  stages  of  culture  draw 
little  distinction  between  animal  and  man. 

Primitive  psychology,  drawing  no  definite  line  of  demarcation 


1  Belden,  p.  215,  seq.  2  Bollaert,  5.  3  i  Southey,  590. 

4  i  ib.,  1 1 8.  5  Cieza,  354.  6  Bradford,  356. 


48  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

between  souls  of  men  and  of  beasts,  admits  the  transmigration 
of  human  souls  into  animals. 

The  nobler  animals  are  generally,  but  not  universally,  selected 
as  objects  into  which  transmigration  takes  place.  The  archi 
tectural  skill  of  the  beaver,  the  wise  aspect  of  the  owl,  the 
sweet  plaint  of  the  nightingale,  the  howls  of  beasts  like  the 
moans  of  children  in  pain,  the  sparkling  orbs  and  tortuous 
stealthiness  of  the  snake,  supply  hints  at  metempsychosis.1 

The  spirit  freed 

••  Fills  with  fresh  energy  another  form, 
And  towers  an  elephant,  or  glides  a  worm ; 
Swims  as  an  eagle  in  the  eye  of  noon, 
Or  wails  a  screech-owl  to  the  deaf  cold  moon." 

The  Chinooks  believe  in  the  transmigration  of  souls  into 
birds,  beasts,  fishes,  and  all  animate  objects.2 

In  Peru,  as  soon  as  a  dying  person  draws  his  last  breath, 
ashes  are  strewed  on  the  floor  of  the  room,  and  the  door  is 
securely  fastened.  Next  morning  the  ashes  are  carefully  ex 
amined  to  ascertain  whether  they  show  any  impression  of  foot 
steps,  and  imagination  readily  traces  marks,  which  are  alleged 
to  have  been  produced  by  the  feet  of  birds,  dogs,  cats,  oxen,  or 
llamas.  The  destiny  of  the  dead  person  is  construed  by  the 
footmarks  which  are  supposed  to  be  discernible.  The  soul  has 
transmigrated  into  that  animal  whose  tracks  are  found.3 

Mr.  Hennepin  says  the  Northern  Indians  related  that  they 
had  seen  a  serpent  come  out  of  the  mouth  of  a  woman  when 
she  died.4  Her  soul  had  passed  into  its  body. 

The  Powhatans  refrained  from  doing  any  harm  to  small  wood- 
birds,  because  they  were  animated  by  the  souls  of  their  dead 
chiefs. 

A  very  popular  bird  for  transmigration  of  the  souls  of  the 
Hurons  was  the  turtle-dove ;  and  the  Iroquois,  as  a  part  of  the 
funeral  rite,  set  free  a  bird  to  carry  the  soul  away.5 

1  Alger*s  Doc.  Fut.  Life,  479.  2  Swan's  Washington  Territory,  174, 

3  Tschudi's  Peru.  337.  *  Hennepin's  Continuation,  122. 

s  Morgan's  League,  174. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  49 

In  Dacotah  mythology  a  large  fish  which  dammed  up  the 
waters  of  the  St.  Croix  had  in  it  the  spirit  of  a  Dacotah,  and 
the  only  way  of  inducing  his  monstrous  highness  to  take  him 
self  off  and  stop  his  obstruction  of  navigation  was  for  an  Indian 
woman,  whom  he  had  loved  when  a  Dacotah,  to  entreat  him 
to  go  to  deeper  water.  She  accompanied  her  request  with  a 
present  of  a  little  dish  of  bark,  worked  and  ornamented  very 
handsomely  by  herself.1 

Among  the  South  American  tribes,  the  Abipones  of  Paraguay 
believe  that  the  little  ducks  that  fly  about  in  flocks  at  night, 
uttering  a  mournful  hiss,  are  inhabited  by  the  souls  of  their 
dead.2 

The  Yurubas  believed  the  souls  of  the  dead  entered  into 
animals.  The  Mexicans  also  believed  in  such  transmigration.3 

The  Caribs  think  human  souls  transmigrate  into  the  bodies 
of  beasts.  A  Guarany  woman  would  start  at  seeing  a  fox, 
thinking  the  spirit  of  her  dead  daughter  might  be  within  it. 

The  totemic  system  is  connected  with  transmigration.  The 
Moquis  think  that  after  death  they  live  in  the  form  of  their 
totemic  animal.  Those  of  the  deer  family  become  deer;  the 
bear  tribe  become  bears ;  and  so  on  through  the  gentes.4 

The  doctrine  of  transmigration  of  human  souls  into  animals 
is  the  source  of  their  superstitious  abstention  from  eating  the 
flesh  of  some  animals. 

Darwin  mentions  a  South  American  Indian  who  would  not 
eat  land-birds  because  they  were  dead  men.5 

The  tribes  akin  to  the  Pomo  will  not  eat  grizzly  bears,  for 
the  spirits  of  their  dead  enter  into  them.  They  will  often  beg 
to  save  the  life  of  one  of  these  animals.6 

The  California  tribes  abstain  from  large  game,  because  they 
believe  the  souls  of  past  generations  have  passed  into  their 
bodies.7 


1  Eastman,  163-64.  2  2  Dobrizhoffer,  74. 

3  Bradford,  357.  4  Cozzens,  465. 

5  Naturalist's  Voyage,  214.  6  3  Schoolcraft,  113. 
-  5  ib.,  215. 


50  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Hayes  mentions  an  Eskimo  woman  who  would  not  eat 
walrus,  as  her  husband's  soul  had  passed  into  it  for  temporary 
habitation.  The  Angekok  always  announces  to  the  widow  the 
animal  into  which  her  husband's  soul  has  entered,  and  she  never 
eats  that  animal.1 

Nothing  could  be  more  natural  to  those  who  believe  in  the 
transmigration  of  human  souls  into  animals,  than  to  imagine 
that  the  best  men  would  enter  the  nobler  animals,  while  the 
common  spirits  entered  the  lower  animals.  The  Tlascalans 
thought  the  souls  of  nobles  animated  the  beautiful  singing  birds, 
while  those  of  plebeians  passed  into  weasels,  beetles,  and  such 
creatures.  The  Icannis  of  Brazil  thought  the  souls  of  brave 
warriors  passed  into  beautiful  birds  that  fed  on  pleasant  fruits. 
Souls  of  cowards  migrated  into  reptiles.2 

The  Tapuyas  think  the  souls  of  the  good  and  brave  enter 
birds,  while  the  cowardly  become  reptiles.3 

The  Arkansas  thought  their  principal  deities  resided  in  some 
of  the  nobler  animals,  feeding  in  the  forests,  and  perpetuity  was 
kept  up  by  transmigration. 

The  doctrine  of  transmigration  of  human  souls  into  animals 
is  found  among  all  the  tribes  of  the  New  World,  but  among  the 
ruder  tribes  very  little  evidence  of  the  limitation  of  this  trans 
migration  to  evil  spirits  is  found.  Among  a  few  of  the  Northern 
tribes  it  is  found  to  a  limited  extent,  but  connected  with  a  be 
lief  in  a  paradise  for  good  spirits.  The  Ojibways  thought  the 
souls  of  the  \vicked  passed  into  toads.4 

We  can  recognize  in  the  destiny  of  the  departed  souls,  accord 
ing  to  these  rules  of  transmigration,  the  beginning  of  the  doc 
trine  of  future  rewards  and  punishments. 

The  Dog-Ribs  think  evil  spirits  assume  the  form  of  bears, 
wolves,  and  other  animals,  and  in  the  woods  and  desert  places 
they  fancy  they  hear  them  howling  and  moaning.5 

The  Allequas  supposed  the  soul  must  transmigrate  until  it 


1  Hayes's  Arctic  Researches,  199.  2  2  Tylor,  6-7;  3  Bancroft,  512. 

3  Orton's  Andes,  170.  4  Kohl's  Kitchi-Gami,  219. 

s  Hartwig's  Polar  World,  329. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  51 

had  become  so  good  as  to  be  able  to  pass  into  the  ever-green 
prairies  of  the  happy  land.  Some  of  the  Western  tribes  thought 
that  by  eating  those  animals  that  did  not  contain  the  embodied 
spirits  of  their  own  tribe,  whose  flesh  they  abstained  from  eat 
ing,  they  would  gather  their  souls  and  increase  their  own  soul- 
power,  and  insure  their  getting  into  the  spirit-land  without 
further  transmigration.1 

fit  is  among  the  South  American  nations  that  we  find  the 
doctrine  most  prevalent  that  wicked  spirits  transmigrate  into 
animals  The  Brazilian  Indians  thought  evil  spirits  appeared 
in  lizards,  crocodiles,  and  other  such  reptiles.2 

The  Mbayas  and  Guaycurus  of  Brazil  think  the  souls  of  the 
wicked  pass  into  the  bodies  of  wild  beasts  at  death.3 

Such  is  the  doctrine  of  transmigration  of  wicked  and  inferior 
spirits  into  animals,  and  it  certainly  suggests  a  similarity  to  that 
of  the  races  of  the  Old  World,  which  Mr.  Thoreau  presents 
pleasantly  in  this  strain:  "All  the  shore  rang  with  the  trump 
of  bullfrogs,  the  sturdy  spirits  of  ancient  wine-bibbers  and 
wassailers  still  unrepentant,  trying  to  sing  a  catch  in  their 
Stygian  lake,  who  would  fain  keep  up  the  hilarious  rules  of 
their  old  festal  table,  though  their  voices  have  waxed  hoarse 
and  solemnly  grave,  mocking  at  mirth."4 

Another  form  of  transmigration,  according  to  the  super 
stitious  belief  of  barbarous  peoples,  appears  in  their  theory  of 
diseases  and  their  cures;  and  a  brief  history  of  this  remarkable 
superstition  will  now  be  given.  As  in  normal  conditions  the 
man's  soul  inhabiting  his  body  is  thought  to  give  it  life  and 
health  and  power  to  think,  speak,  and  act  through  it,  so  an 
adaptation  of  the  same  principle  explains  abnormal  conditions 
of  body  or  mind,  by  considering  the  new  symptoms  as  due  to 
the  operation  of  a  second  soul-like  being,  a  strange  spirit.  "  A 
man  burning  in  fever,  or  pained  and  wrenched  as  though  some 
live  creature  were  tearing  and  twisting  him  within,  rationally 


1  3  Bancroft,  525.  2  Darwin,  Nat.  Voy.,  243. 

3  i  Soutliey,  118;  3  ib.,  392.  *  Thoreau's  Wai  den,  137. 


52  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

finds  a  personal  spiritual  cause  for  his  sufferings.  When  the 
mysterious  unseen  power  throws  him  helpless  on  the  ground, 
jerks  and  writhes  him  in  convulsions,  and  impels  him,  with 
distorted  face  and  frantic  gesture  not  his,  or  seemingly  even 
human,  to  pour  forth  wild,  incoherent  raving;  or,  with  thought 
and  eloquence  beyond  his  sober  faculties,  to  command,  counsel, 
and  foretell ;  such  an  one  seems  to  those  who  watch  him,  and 
even  to  himself,  to  have  become  the  mere  instrument  of  a  spirit 
which  has  seized  him  or  entered  into  him.  This  is  the  savage 
theory  of  possession  and  obsession,  which  is  their  theory  of 
disease  and  inspiration.  There  is  this  difference  between  pos 
session  and  obsession.  In  possession  the  spirits  enter  into  and 
inhabit  the  body  ;  in  obsession  they  hover  about  and  affect  it 
from  outside."  ' 

They  are  based  on  an  animistic  conception,  most  genuine 
and  rational.  This  animism  must  assume  the  most  prominent 
place  in  man's  intellectual  history.  The  doctrine  underlying 
disease  spirits  and  oracle  spirits  is  the  same,  however  strange 
it  may  appear.  Many  of  those  most  diseased  and  abnormal 
and  morbid  have  for  the  same  reason  become  the  great  re 
ligious  and  prophetic  teachers  of  humanity.  Especially  is  this 
true  among  the  uncultivated  and  primitive  races,  where  all 
prophecy  is  a  synonym  of  dream  and  all  medical  practice  a 
synonym  of  sorcery.  Disease  being  accounted  for  by  an  attack 
of  spirits,  it  naturally  follows  that  to  get  rid  of  these  spirits  is 
the  proper  means  of  cure.  Nothing  could  display  more  vividly 
the  conception  of  a  disease  or  a  mental  affection,  as  caused 
by  a  spiritual  being,  than  the  proceedings  of  the  sorcerer,  who 
talks  to  it,  coaxes  or  threatens  it,  makes  offerings  to  it,  and 
tries  to  entice  or  drive  it  out  of  the  patient's  body. 

That  the  two  great  effects  ascribed  to  such  spiritual  influ 
ence,  namely,  the  infliction  of  ailments  and  the  inspiration  of 
oracles,  are  not  only  mixed  up  together,  but  often  run  into 
absolute  coincidence,  accords  with  the  view  that  both  results 

1  2  Tylor,  Prim.  Cult.,  123-26. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  53 

are  referred  to  one  common  cause.  The  intruding  spirit  may 
be  a  human  soul,  or  belong  to  some  other  class  in  the  spiritual 
hierarchy.  These  spiritual  beings  are  abroad  upon  the  earth  in 
lanje  numbers,  and  their  life  is  a  continuation,  and  not  a  new 

o 

life,  in  savage  religion.  They  have  revenge  to  satisfy,  inspired 
by  past  and  present  wrongs.  Again,  those  that  have  been 
wicked  spirits  when  embodied  are  wicked  when  disembodied, 
and  will  seek  to  do  all  the  injury  to  others  in  their  power.  The 
most  primitive  belief  concerning  the  way  in  which  these  injuries 
are  inflicted  is  that  which  attributes  sickness  and  bodily  harm 
to  these  disembodied  spirits.  Those  that  inflict  sickness  are 
really  the  demons  of  primitive  times,  although  demonology  in 
its  modern  form  has  not  yet  been  fully  developed.  Thus  we 
see  that  demonology,  transmigration,  disease,  and  dreams, 
although  different  branches  of  the  same  subject,  are  so  inter 
woven  in  the  study  of  the  religion  of  the  American  nations 
that  I  have  chosen  to  place  them  together  in  the  same  chapter, 
but  study  them  separately,  as  far  as  it  can  be  done,  without  a 
repetition  of  the  facts  that  elucidate  them  all. 

Disease  is  produced  by  the  transmigration  of  one  or  more 
spirits,  generally  those  of  animals,  into  the  sick  person.  Says 
Mrs.  Eastman,  "  What  the  Dacotah  most  dreads  is  that  some 
animal  will  enter  his  body  and  make  him  sick." *  They 
thought  that  toothache  was  produced  by  the  spirit  of  a  wood 
pecker.2  An  old  Dacotah,  whose  son  had  sore  eyes,  said  that 
nearly  thirty  years  before,  when  his  son  was  a  boy,  he  fastened 
a  pin  to  a  stick  and  speared  a  minnow  with  it,  and  it  was 
strange  that  the  fish  after  so  long  a  time  should  come  to  seek 
revenge  on  his  son's  eyes.3 

Among  the  Northern  Californians,  snakes  and  other  reptiles 
appear  to  get  most  of  the  blame  for  their  sickness.  They  dis 
cover  the  locality  of  the  spirit  in  the  body  by  barking  at  it  for 
some  time.4 


1  Eastman's  Sioux.  2  Neill's  Minnesota,  87. 

s  2  Wiscon.  Hist.  Coll.,  183.  *  i  Bancroft,  354-55. 


54  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Among  the  wild  tribes  of  Mexico  the  animals  generally 
guilty  are  monstrous  ants  or  worms.1 

The  natives  of  Brazil  think  disease  is  produced  by  the  spirit 
of  some  animal  entering  the  body  of  the  patient,  in  revenge  for 
some  wrong,  and  the  chief  of  the  tribe,  who  acts  as  physician, 
asks  the  patient  if  he  has  offended  a  tortoise,  deer,  or  other 
animal.2 

Thus,  among  the  Abipones  of  Paraguay,  if  they  give  the  flesh 
of  a  tortoise,  stag,  or  boar  to  dogs,  it  is  an  indignity  to  those 
animals,  and  punishment  will  overtake  them.  The  soul  of  the 
animal  will  enter  their  bodies  and  afflict  them.3 

Paralysis  was  generally  attributed  to  the  agency  of  the  spirit 
of  a  deceased  person.  The  treatment  consists  in  efforts  to 
drive  away  the  spirit  by  conjuring  and  uncouth  noises. 

According  to  the  disease  theory  above  given,  the  pathology 
of  all  diseases  being  nearly  the  same,  their  professed  medicine 
men  treat  all  diseases  nearly  alike.  Their  efforts  are  expended 
in  expelling  the  spirit,  whatever  it  may  be,  which  it  is  expected 
the  medicine-man  will  soon  discover,  and,  hav/mg  informed  the 
friends  what  it  is,  he  usually  requires  them  to  be  in  readiness  to 
drive  it  away  as  soon  as  he  shall  succeed  in  expelling  it.  This 
he  attempts  in  the  first  place  by  incantations,  intended  to  secure 
the  aid  of  the  spirits  he  worships,  and  then  by  all  kinds  of  fright 
ful  noises  and  gestures,  and  by  sucking  the  place  where  the  pain 
is.  As  soon  as  he  thinks  he  has  succeeded  in  dislodging  the 
spirit,  he  says  the  word,  and  two  or  more  weapons  are  dis 
charged  at  the  door  of  the  tent,  to  frighten  the  spirit  as  it 
passes  out.4  If  they  do  not  succeed  in  curing  the  patient,  they 
excuse  themselves  by  saying  that  they  have  not  found  the 
right  animal. 

Among  the  Six  Nations  the  Indians  had  a  singular  way  of 
discovering  the  right  intruder  in  cases  of  extreme  sickness.  In 
the  case  of  the  illness  of  the  wife  of  Ca-whic-do-ta,  which  oc- 


1  I  Bancroft,  640.  2  I  Southey,  334. 

3  2  ib.,  263.  *  I  School.,  250. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  55 

curred  in  1/93,  fearing  she  was  to  die,  the  Indians  gathered 
eight  or  ten  bushels  of  ashes  and  placed  them  in  a  pile  near  the 
hut  in  which  she  lay.  The  ashes  were  then  scattered  around 
the  cabin.  By  these  manoeuvres  they  hoped  to  discover  what 
spirit  visited  the  sick  person  by  its  tracks.  The  Western  tribes 
had  a  still  more  singular  way  of  discovering  the  intruding 
animal.  Each  medicine-man  had  diminutive  wooden  idols 
under  some  form  of  a  quadruped,  or  bird,  or  fish.  When  any 
chief  personage  was  sick,  the  priests  were  sent  for,  to  bring  their 
idols.  They  retired  into  a  canoe  to  hold  a  consultation,  and  if 
they  did  not  agree  as  to  the  malady  or  the  mode  of  treatment, 
they  settled  the  dispute  by  beating  the  idols  against  each  other, 
and  whichever  lost  a  tooth  or  a  claw  was  confuted.1 

The  departure  of  the  animal  was  a  cause  of  thanksgiving, 
even  in  the  slightest  affections.  Thus,  the  Omahaws  after  an 
eructation  say,  "  Thank  you,  animal."  2 

The  way  of  curing  sick  patients  among  the  Indians  of  Darien 
was  to  strip  them  stark  naked  and  shoot  small  arrows  at  them. 
If  an  arrow  opened  a  vein  and  blood  rushed  out,  the  people 
leaped  with  joy.  The  theory  undoubtedly  was  that  the  in 
truding  spirit  had  been  pierced  and  compelled  to  come  forth. 

Among  the  Mapuches  the  sorcerer  proceeds  to  frighten  the 
evil  spirit  out  of  the  patient.  He  makes  himself  as  horrible- 
looking  as  he  can,  and  begins  beating  a  drum  and  working 
himself  into  a  frenzy  until  he  falls  to  the  ground  with  his  breast 
jerking  convulsively.  As  soon  as  he  falls,  a  number  of  young 
men  outside  the  hut,  who  are  there  to  assist  him  in  driving  off 
the  evil  one,  begin  yelling  defiantly,  and  dashing  at  full  speed, 
with  lighted  torches,  around  the  hut.  If  this  does  not  frighten 
the  evil  spirit  off,  but  death  takes  place,  it  is  attributed  to  witch 
craft.  A  woman  often  acts  as  sorcerer.3 

The  Araucanians  have  the  same  ceremonies  for  cure  of 
sickness. 

The  Mundrucus  think  sickness  is  caused  by  spirits,  and  the 


Dunn's  Oregon,  91.  2  2  Long's  Exp.,  54. 

3  2  Wood's  Uncivilized  Races,  562. 


56  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

medicine-men  fix  upon  the  place  where  the  evil  spirit  has 
located  itself,  and  then  suck  the  spot  and  blow  smoke  upon  it.1 

The  Abipones  think  disease  is  produced  by  enemies,  and 
murders  are  committed  in  many  cases  where  disease  results  in 
death.  An  immense  drum  which  makes  a  horrible  bellowing 
is  placed  near  a  sick  person's  head  to  frighten  away  the  evil 
spirit.2 

The  Central  American  tribes  attribute  sickness  to  evil  spirits, 
and  have  medicine-men  called  sookias,  who  perform  their  in 
cantations  over  the  sick,  whom  they  first  surround  with  a  little 
fence  of  charmed  and  painted  sticks.  If  there  is  an  epidemic 
in  the  town,  they  will  surround  the  windward  side  with  these 
sticks,  with  little  grotesque  images  on  them.  If  their  success 
is  not  such  as  they  expect  in  expelling  the  evil  spirits,  the  in 
habitants  remove  immediately  and  burn  the  village.3 

The  Patagonians  thought  sickness  was  caused  by  a  spirit  en 
tering  the  patient's  body.  They  believed  every  sick  person  to 
be  possessed  of  an  evil  demon.  The  inhabitants  of  the  West 
Indies  also  referred  diseases  to  hostile  demons,  and  the  physi 
cian,  after  pulling  and  sucking  the  patient  thoroughly,  would 
go  to  the  door  of  the  house  and  pretend  to  blow  something 
through  his  hands,  saying,  "  Begone  to  the  mountains,  or  where 
you  will."4 

The  natives  of  Cumana  thought  the  diseased  v/ere  possessed 
with  spirits.  Their  physicians  sucked  and  licked  the  part  af 
fected,  to  draw  out  the  distemper,  spitting  at  short  intervals. 
They  said  they  drew  out  spirits.  "  If  the  disease  increased,  they 
tickled  the  throat  with  a  stick  till  the  patient  vomited,  which 
they  carried  into  the  field,  saying,  '  Go  thy  way,  devil !' " 5 

The  Koniagas  in  the  Northwest,  when  a  person  falls  sick, 
suppose  some  evil  spirit  has  taken  possession  of  him,  and  it  is 
the  business  of  the  sorcerer  to  drive  it  out.  He  begins  with  a 
tambourine  and  incantations,  and  if  this  does  not  accomplish 
the  purpose  he  falls  upon  the  person  of  the  sufferer,  and,  seizing 

1  2  Wood's  Uncivilized  Races,  577.  2  2  Dobriz.,  266. 

*  I  Brown,  251.  *  i  Herrern,  163.  53  ib.,  310. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  57 

the  demon,  struggles  with  it,  overpowers  it,  and  casts  it  out, 
while  the  assistants  cry,  "  He  is  gone  !  he  is  gone !"  x 

The  Nootkans  ascribe  disease  to  the  influence  of  evil  spirits. 
The  patient  is  always  starved,  lest  the  food  should  be  consumed 
by  his  internal  enemy.2  If  the  disease  becomes  serious,  it  is 
decided  that  evil  spirits  have  fixed  upon  the  patient's  body  for 
their  dwelling-place,  whereupon  they  begin  a  most  violent 
pressure  and  kneading  of  the  body,3  evidently  intending  to 
make  it  very  uncomfortable  for  the  intruder. 

Among  the  more  advanced  races  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  an 
additional  method  of  aiding  in  the  cure  of  disease  was  found  in 
the  confession  of  sins. 

The  employment  of  the  confessional  in  the  cure  of  disease 
had  a  practical  use.  The  disease  was  supposed  to  be  produced 
by  some  avenging  spirit,  which  might  be  appeased  and  turned 
aside  from  its  revengeful  purpose  by  the  penitent  admission  of 
the  wrong.  Hence  it  was  very  common  among  semi-civilized 
peoples  to  have  a  confessional,  and  among  the  barbarous  tribes 
it  existed  in  a  rude  form,  as  the  following  illustration  shows.  In 
Honduras,  if  a  native  was  met  by  a  jaguar  he  would  confess  his 
sins  aloud,  imploring  pardon.  If  the  beast  still  threatened,  he 
would  say,  "  I  have  committed  as  many  more  sins  :  do  not  kill 
me."  * 

The  Roman  Catholics  were  quite  astonished  to  find  the  con 
fessional  established  before  their  arrival.  The  primitive  belief 
that  disease  is  produced  by  hostile  spirits  seeking  revenge  for 
some  wrong  would  naturally  result  in  confession,  if  the  estab 
lishment  of  a  priestly  hierarchy  outstripped  the  progress  of 
medical  science,  conditions  which  we  find  fulfilled  in  the  Mex 
ican  and  Peruvian  civilization.  They  both  had  an  established 
priesthood,  successors  to  the  primitive  sorcerers.  But  the  wild 
and  violent  methods  of  these  sorcerers  would  not  be  tolerated 
by  a  more  cultivated  people.  They  must  yield  to  a  more 
peaceful  method  of  cure.  The  priest  has  assumed  to  himself 


1  I  Bancroft,  85.  2  I  ib.,  204-205. 

3  i  ib.,  246.  4  3  ib.,  486. 


58  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

the  mediatorship  between  man  and  these  revenging  spirits,  and 
a  confession  to  him  of  all  offences,  followed  by  sacrifice  and 
other  penalties,  served  to  propitiate  the  spiritual  agents  pro 
ducing  diseases.  Coercion  is  supplanted  by  propitiation. 

In  Yucatan,  difficulty  in  childbirth  was  supposed  to  be  pro 
duced  by  some  sin  which  had  to  be  confessed.  If  the  wife's 
confession  did  not  answer,  the  husband  was  compelled  to  con 
fess.1  Sins  committed  twenty  years  before  a  sickness  were 
thought  to  have  come  to  give  judgment  at  last,  and  were  con 
fessed  and  sacrifices  offered  to  escape  the  penalty.2  A  married 
priesthood  were  the  regular  confessors,  but  in  an  emergency  a 
husband  confessed  to  a  wife,  and  a  wife  to  a  husband.3 

The  natives  of  Salvador  compelled  confession  of  sins  in  case 
of  sickness.  The  sins  confessed  were  generally  neglect  of  the 
worship  of  their  gods.  The  Peruvians  had  the  confessional, 
and  it  was  a  sin  to  conceal  anything  therein:  all  had  to  con 
fess  but  the  Inca,  who  confessed  to  the  sun.4 

The  curious  couvade,  noticed  by  so  many  travellers,  and 
which  has  been  so  difficult  to  explain,  is  a  superstition  that  has 
arisen  through  fear  of  attacks  of  evil  spirits.  In  the  couvade 
the  man  takes  to  his  bed  when  the  wife  gives  birth  to  a  child, 
and  kills  no  animals.  This  fear  of  killing  animals  and  carrying 
on  their  ordinary  avocations  arises  from  the  supposition  that 
the  spirits  of  the  animals  will  take  advantage  of  the  helpless 
ness  of  the  child,  and  avenge  itself  upon  it  in  some  disease. 

Among  the  Caribs,  in  the  West  Indies,  when  a  child  is  born, 
the  father  begins  to  complain  and  take  to  his  hammock,  and 
does  not  eat  sometimes  for  five  days  together.  After  forty 
days  the  relatives  and  friends  collect,  and  hack  his  flesh  with 
agouti-teeth,  and  draw  blood  from  all  parts  of  his  body.  The 
wounds  are  then  washed  with  pepper  infusion.  For  six  months 
he  must  not  eat  birds  or  fish,  for  whatever  animals  he  eats  will 
impress  their  likeness  on  the  child,  or  produce  disease  by 
entering  its  body.  The  tribes  on  the  east  coast  of  South 


1  2  Bancroft,  678.  2  2  ib.,  796. 

3  3  ib.,  472.  ^  4  Herrera,  348. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  59 

America  practised  the  couvade,  and  thought  if  the  father 
killed  any  animal  it  would  harm  the  child.  The  idea  seemed 
to  be  that  the  father  must  refrain  from  food  the  killing  of  which 
would  bring  harm  to  the  child.  Among  the  Arawaks  the 
father  can  kill  little  birds  and  fish,  but  no  large  game. 

Says  Mr.  Sotithey,  speaking  of  the  couvade  among  the  Bra 
zilians,  "The  father,  according  to  a  custom  more  widely  diffused 
perhaps  than  any  other  observance  which  is  entirely  unac 
countable,  takes  to  his  hammoc"  during  and  after  the  birth  of 
a  child.1  For  fifteen  days  after  the  birth  he  ate  no  meat,  did 
no  hunting,  and  set  no  snares  for  birds.2 

Among  the  Abipones  the  husband  goes  to  bed,  fasts  a  num 
ber  of  days,  "  and  you  would  think,"  says  Dobrizhoffer,  "that  it 
was  he  that  had  had  the  child." 

The  same  custom  prevails  among  the  Coroados,  the  father 
abstaining  from  the  flesh  of  animals.  In  Guiana  the  same 
custom  prevails. 

Among  the  Eskimos  the  husbands  forbear  hunting  during  the 
lying-in  of  their  wives,  and  for  some  time  thereafter.3 

A  curious  custom  of  transferring  disease-spirits  to  images, 
which  are  then  carried  away,  is  a  method  of  cure  that  pertains 
to  the  subject  of  transmigration. 

The  Mexicans,  to  cure  a  raging  fever,  made  a  little  dog  of 
maize  paste  and  put  it  on  a  leaf  and  left  it  on  the  roadside, 
saying  the  first  passer-by  would  carry  away  the  illness.4  The 
spirit  producing  the  disease  entered  the  dog's  image  and  was 
carried  away.  These  curious  methods  of  sending  away  the 
spirit  of  disease  were  common  to  the  Old  World  as  well  as  the 
New. 

A  favorite  treatment  among  the  Nahuas  was  to  form  a  figure 
of  corn  dough.  They  introduced  the  disease  into  it  and  then 
carried  it  off  and  left  it  by  the  wayside.  Of  course  it  is  the 
intruding  spirit  that  is  carried  away  in  the  image  or  figure,  and 
the  priest  has  succeeded  in  driving  it  out  of  the  patient  into  the 

1  3  Southey,  165.  2  2  ib.,  368. 

3  Egede,  196.  *  Motolinia,  130. 


60  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

image,  which  is  their  equivalent  of  the  scapegoat.  It  is  quite 
remarkable  to  find  this  practice  more  common  among  the  civil 
ized  American  tribes  than  anywhere  else,  although  it  is  found 
at  certain  stages  of  progress  among  all  peoples. 

The  use  of  medical  cures  formed  little  or  no  part  of  the 
sorcerer's  programme,  and  the  few  herbs  that  were  discovered 
to  have  medical  properties  were  themselves  elevated  into  gods. 
Those  that  grew  on  burial-places  had  superstitious  pre-emi 
nence  given  them  in  these  cures,  showing  the  animistic  nature 
of  their  cures  and  the  tendency  of  the  primitive  mind. 

Sometimes  diseases  of  the  consumptive  or  non-acute  kind  are 
produced  by  the  prolonged  absence  of  a  person's  soul  from  his 
body.  Such  a  case  came  under  Mr.  Jones's  observation,  where 
the  sorcerer  told  a  sick  man  that  his  soul  had  gone  away  from 
him,  and  was  in  the  bank  of  a  river  with  the  manitous  who 
reside  there.1 

The  Aht  sorcerer  undertakes  to  bring  back  truant  souls  into 
bodies  that  have  been  bereft  of  them ;  also  effects  interchanges 
of  souls.2 

This  theory  of  the  absence  of  the  spirit  from  the  body  during 
life  and  the  incoming  of  another  spirit,  explains  a  large  class  of 
phenomena  which  are  accounted  for  by  the  presence  of  the 
strange  spirit.  The  body  perhaps  struggles  violently  in  the 
throes  of  a  nightmare.  The  inference  is  that  this  usurping 
spirit  uses  the  body  in  this  violent  way.  Sometimes  the  new 
spirit  is  not  willing  to  go  out  when  the  other  returns,  and  then 
we  would  have  a  case  of  possession,  and  the  struggle  might 
become  so  fierce  and  sharp  that  the  person  would  behave  like 
a  maniac,  and  the  intruding  spirit  would  be  dubbed  a  demon. 
Again,  upon  the  same  theory  these  cases  of  possession  by  an 
unclean,  or,  in  other  words,  an  intruding  spirit,  would  not  be 
confined  to  the  sleep  superstition,  but  some  audaciously  wicked 
spirit  would  occasionally  attempt  to  force  an  entrance  when  the 
spirit  is  not  away  ;  and  then  we  have  epilepsy,  and  the  falling 

1  Jones's  Ojibways,  271.  2  Sproat's  Scenes  of  Savage  Life,  169. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  6 1 

sickness.  Again,  sometimes  the  body  does  things  involuntarily. 
What  has  caused  this  ?  Evidently  an  intruding  spirit  has  pro 
duced  contortions,  and  makes  the  body  do  things  its  owner  does 
not  wish.  Hysteria  is  produced  by  an  intruder,  and  its  uncon 
trollable  and  meaningless  laughs  and  sobs  are  those  of  the  new 
comer.  Its  movements  are  felt  in  the  globus  hystericus.  Again, 
sneezing  and  yawning  are  involuntary,  and  these  are  the  work 
of  the  intruder;  and  hence  quite  a  body  of  superstitions  have 
grown  up  around  these,  many  of  which  have  survived  to  the 
present  day. 

The  next  branch  of  the  subject  of  the  employment  of  spirits,    • 
and  their  invisible  agency,  will  be  that  of  dreams.    Dreams  are 
produced  by  the  temporary  transmigration  of  an  outside  spirit    | 
into  the  troubled  person,  or  they  are  the  real  experiences  of  the  I 
wandering  soul  of  the  sleeper.     Among  the  Ahts,  when  a  per 
son  starts  in  a  dream  with  a  scream,  a  relative  will  cut  his  arms 
and  legs,  and  sprinkle  the  blood  around  the  house  as  a  sacri 
fice  to  the  spirit  which  is  troubling  him.    If  the  vision  continues, 
they  throw  articles  on  the  fire.1     This  sacrifice  appeases  the  in 
truding  spirit. 

The  influence  of  dreams  is  so  great  upon  the  life  of  the  x 
American  Indians  that  every  act  and  thought  is  predicated 
upon  this  superstition.  Many  instances  are  found  where  In 
dians  have  dreamed  of  seeing  a  bear,  or  some  other  animal,  at 
a  certain  place,  whose  flesh  they  need  to  keep  them  from 
starving ;  and  such  credence  do  they  give  to  this  dream  that 
they  will  start  after  the  game.  Such  a  case  is  mentioned  in 
Tanner's  narrative.  The  mother  of  a  young  hunter  dreamed 
that  she  saw  a  bear  at  a  certain  place  which  she  described. 
A  young  son  following  the  description  found  a  bear  in  the  place 
indicated,  and  killed  it.2 

A  few  such  coincidences  have  strengthened  their  faith  in 
dreams.  The  Nootkans  find  out  where  fish  and  berries  are 
most  abundant  by  means  of  dreams.  Obedience  was  yielded 
to  dreams. 

1  Sproat,  173.  2  Tanner,  52-53. 


62  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Charlevoix  mentions  an  Iroquois  who  dreamed  of  having  a 
finger  cut  off,  and  forthwith  proceeded  to  cut  it  off  when  he 
awoke.1  . 

An  Iowa  chief,  having  dreamed  that  he  would  die  after  the 
happening  of  a  certain  event,  prepared  himself  for  death  after 
the  event  happened,  and  expired  without  any  previous  indis 
position.2 

Says  Hind  of  those  savages  about  Hudson's  Bay,  "  If  one 
of  them  dreams  he  will  die,  he  cannot  be  saved."  An  Indian 
dream  is  an  inspiration.  The  inspiring  agent  is  a  spirit.  Its 
communication  in  the  dream  becomes  an  oracle  to  them,  more 
implicitly  believed  than  ever  was  oracle  of  Dodona  or  Pythian 
Apollo.  Their  doctrine  of  dreams  is  closely  connected  with 
their  belief  in  the  transmigration  of  souls,  for  their  doctrine 
of  the  transmigration  is  much  broader  than  the  Pythagorean. 
Death  did  not  have  to  loose  the  bands  of  the  spirit  to  give  it 
freedom  to  migrate,  in  the  Indian  philosophy.  In  sleep  it  wan 
dered  away  from  the  body,  and  while  gone  another  from  the 
spirit-land  could  usurp  its  vacant  throne.  Each  man  was,  how 
ever,  his  own  channel  of  inspiration,  and  his  own  interpreter. 
The  spirit  was  not  connected  with  the  body  by  a  luminous  band 
exceedingly  ethereal,  yet  so  sensitive  as  to  warn  the  wanderer 
of  danger  or  encroachment,  as  is  imagined  by  some  modern 
spiritualists,  but  its  connection  was  severed,  and  it  sometimes 
took  a  long  journey  to  converse  with  the  sun  or  moon,  or  this 
or  that  star. 

Their  crude  anthropomorphic  conceptions  of  the  heavenly 
bodies  did  not  make  it  presumptuous  to  think  of  conversing 
with  the  sun ;  many  of  them  in  their  dreams  have  taken  a 
pleasant  walk  with  that  luminary.  Little  Raven,  an  Ojibway, 
walked  over  mountains  and  high  up  into  the  vault  of  heaven 
with  "  the  big  sea-water"  far  beneath.  He  at  last  beheld  the 
sun  sitting  with  a  lamp  behind  him.  The  sun  told  him  his 
future  life,  and  then  sent  him  back  to  earth  to  live  till  it  was 

1  2  Voyage,  156.  a  Stoddarcl's  Louisiana,  425. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  63 

fulfilled.1     Little  Raven,  on  account  of  this  dream,  was  confident 
of  living  until  his  mission  was  accomplished. 

Indians  of  the  Algonkin  stock  believe  that  communications 
from  superior  beings  take  place  in  dreams.  Not  only  the  future 
in  this  life,  but  their  life  after  death,  is  revealed  to  them  in  this 
way.  Many  of  their  ideas  of  the  future  life  are  the  result  of 
these  dreams.2 

The  savage  considers  the  events  in  his  dreams  to  be  as  real^^ 
as  those  of  his  waking  hours.  The  dream  is  the  first  important 
act  of  their  lives,  and  takes  place  soon  after  they  become  adults. 
They  have  discovered  that  fasting  is  a  very  sure  method  of  in 
ducing  these  dreams,  and  each  one  goes  to  some  secluded  place 
as  soon  as  he  arrives  at  maturity,  to  dream,  and  in  this  way  to 
select  a  guardian  spirit.  After  fasting  the  necessary  time  in 
his  solitary  retreat,  whether  it  be  a  cave,  a  forest  tree,  or  the 
lofty  summit  of  some  neighboring  mountain,  the  dream  comes, 
and  home  the  famished  recluse  hastens,  happy  in  the  inspira 
tion  of  the  hour.  Sometimes  he  is  so  reduced  by  starvation 
he  cannot  return  without  help;  but  anxious  friends  who  have 
sought  out  the  lost  one  are  ready  when  the  sacred  act  is  over 
to  lend  their  aid. 

In  these  first  dreams,  which  are  religious  acts,  the  first  or  the  \/ 
most  prominent  thing  they  dream  about  becomes  their  manitou 
(fetich),  and  on  awaking  all  their  efforts  are  directed  toward  ob 
taining  this  object.  To  dream  of  anything  that  is  proof  against 
the  arrow  or  tomahawk  makes  them  proof  against  the  enemy, 
and  brave  warriors.  To  dream  of  an  animal  of  any  kind 
makes  them  imagine  they  will  have  the  qualities  of  that 
animal.  Birds  were  favorite  manitous,  for  he  who  had  a  bird 
for  his  manitou  could  escape  from  impending  danger  as  easily 
as  that  animal. 

We  can  see  what  a  great  influence  these  dreams  would  have 
upon  almost  every  act  of  their  life.  To  illustrate  more  particu 
larly  ;  chiefs  when  organizing  an  expedition  for  war  would  call 

1  Kohl,  206-7.  a  Tanner's  Narrative,  290. 


64  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

their  men  together  and  inquire  of  them,  one  by  one,  what  they 
had  dreamt  of  during  their  fast-days,  and  what  manitous  they 
could  rely  on  for  assistance.  All  who  had  dreamed  of  war,  or 
things  proof  against  the  arrow  or  tomahawk,  were  always  selected 
for  these  war  expeditions.  The  Ojibways  have  a  tradition  of  a 
body  of  warriors  who  once  went  out  to  victories  more  astonish 
ing  than  that  of  Marathon.  The  secret  of  their  success  was 
that  every  man  selected  for  the  expedition  had  had  a  dream 
that  nerved  him  for  the  field  of  battle. 

Dreams  all  through  life  have  a  great  significance,  though 
not  so  great  as  these  first  dreams.  For  instance,  if  a  band  of 
warriors  is  on  its  way  to  the  enemy's  country,  it  will  turn  back 
if  a  chief  has  one  or  more  unfavorable  dreams.  All  dreams 
before  and  during  the  expedition  are  carefully  observed  and 
considered,  and  all  the  individual  manitous  of  their  first  dreams 
are  carried  along  as  fetiches  to  the  war,  and  the  most  implicit 
faith  is  shown  in  these,  although  they  have  so  much  evidence 
all  the  time  before  their  eyes  of  their  uselessness. 

A  large  part  of  the  religious  belief  of  the  Dacotahs  is  made 
up  of  dreams. 

The  Indians  of  New  England  had  superstitious  regard  for 
their  dreams.  One  who  dreamed  that  the  sun  had  darted  a 
beam  into  his  breast  was  so  frightened  thereby  he  lay  awake 
and  fasted  ten  days  and  nights.1 

An  Ojibway  damsel,  whom  Cop  way  knew,  had  fasted  ten  days 
and  nights  in  a  lonely  cave  near  Grand  Island.  Here  she  waited 
for  inspiration  of  the  spirits.  She  fled  from  her  home  to  the 
rocky  cave,  and,  though  sought  in  woodland  and  in  glade  for 
two  days,  she  was  not  found  by  her  anxious  friends.  At  last, 
one  evening,  as  the  sun  was  sinking  below  the  horizon,  they 
beheld,  standing  on  a  lofty  peak,  the  lost  maiden  gazing  at  the 
departing  sun.  She  was  soon  found  sitting  in  the  cave,  and, 
although  a  rivulet  of  pure  water  coursed  along  at  her  feet,  she 
touched  it  not,  for  she  was  fasting  that  she  might  have  dreams, 

«  Williams,  Key,  39-40. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  65 

and  they  came.  The  clouds  rolled  beneath  her.  She  looked 
back  on  the  path  she  had  followed,  and  around  it  she  beheld 
the  lightning's  flash.  Up  she  went,  and  on  one  side  rolled  the 
deep  broad  ocean,  on  the  other  the  lofty  mountains  of  the  west 
stretched  their  heads  into  the  clouds.  She  dreamed  she  had  a 
companion  who  touched  her  head,  when  one-half  of  her  hair 
was  changed  to  snowy  whiteness.  She  awoke ;  her  soul  was 
satisfied.  She  was  to  be  blessed  with  old  age,  and  with  the 
most  perfect  confidence  she  believed  she  would  not  die  till  her 
hair  turned  white.1 

The  Brazilians  had  the  same  superstitious  confidence  in  the 
inspiration  of  dreams  as  the  Northern  tribes.  Before  an  expe 
dition  into  an  enemy's  country,  if  many  of  the  tribe  dreamt  of 
eating  their  enemies  it  was  a  sure  sign  of  success ;  but  if  more 
dreamt  that  they  themselves  were  eaten,  the  expedition  was 
given  up.  The  dreams  of  their  prophetesses  when  in  a  trance 
produced  by  being  fumigated  with  petun  were  received  as 
oracles.2 

Among  the  Chiquitos  a  dream  will  make  a  whole  horde  for 
sake  their  place  of  sojourn,  and  induce  an  individual  to  abandon 
his  wife  and  family.3 

The  Guaranies  noted  their  dreams  with  apprehensive  cre 
dulity.4  Among  the  natives  of  Paraguay  dreams  were  proph 
ecies  :  an  Abipone  juggler  would  sit  upon  an  aged  willow  over 
hanging  some  lake,  and  abstain  from  food  for  several  days  until 
he  began  to  see  into  futurity  through  the  medium  of  dreams.5 

The  conjurers  of  Hispaniola  fasted  three  or  four  months  to 
obtain  communication  with  the  evil  spirits,  and  when  reduced 
to  extreme  weakness  had  a  hellish  apparition,  to  use  the  lan 
guage  of  Herrera,  in  which  they  were  informed  whether  the 
seasons  of  the  year  would  be  favorable  or  not,  and  how  many 
children  would  be  born,  and  how  many  live,  and  other  such 
inspirations.  These  were  their  oracles.6 


1  Copway,  Ojibways,  150-58.         2  I  Southey,  204.  3  i  ib.,  335. 

4  2  ib.,  371.  5  2  Dobriz.,  67-68.  6  2  Herrera,  15. 


66  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

The  native  of  Honduras  repaired  to  a  river,  wood,  or  hill, 
where,  in  an  obscure  place,  he  might  fall  asleep  and  dream. 
In  these  dreams  the  first  animal  he  saw  would  be  his  nagual, 
their  equivalent  of  the  Northern  manitou.1 

The  civilized  tribes  watched  their  dreams  after  the  birth  of  a 
child,  and  interpreted  them  as  a  revelation  of  the  future  of  the 
child.2  The  Mayas  believed  implicitly  in  the  fulfilment  of  these 
dreams.3  The  same  was  true  among  the  Nahuas,  who  had  a 
certain  order  of  priests  who  made  the  interpretation  of  dreams 
their  special  province.4 

Many  of  the  folk-tales  among  the  tribes  of  North  America 
describe  the  dreamy  experiences  of  youthful  Rip  Van  Winkles 
who  have,  with  so  much  vivid  reality,  lived  out  twenty  years 
of  incident  in  twenty-four  hours.  Many  imaginative  persons 
have  passed  into  the  dream-land,  loved  some  spirit  form  that 
has  presented  itself  to  their  disordered  minds,  have  had  chil 
dren  grow  up  around  them,  and  in  the  midst  of  these  delight 
ful  associations  awoke.  Their  dreams  are  remembered  as 
realities,  and  their  awaking  is  called  a  return  from  the  spirit- 
land. 

A  curious  tradition  to  illustrate  this  point  is  told  of  a  Win- 
nebago  who  died  with  love  for  a  phantom  woman  who  appeared 
in  a  spiritual  body  and,  beckoning  to  him,  called, — 

"  Misbikiwakwa,  come, 
And  thou  shalt  be  prest 
To  a  faithful  breast, 
And  thou  shalt  be  led 
To  a  bridal  bed." 

The  romantic  Winnebago,  after  pining  away  in  his  attach 
ment  to  the  dreamy  shadow  that  had  called  him  in  some 
ecstatic  vision  of  the  night  hour,  died,  and  went  to  drink  with 
her  of  the  crystal  streams  in  the  land  of  souls,  and  bring  her 
berries  from  the  hills  and  flowers  from  the  vales.5 

1  4  Herrera,  138.  2  4  ib.,  141. 

3  2  Bancroft,  796.  4  2  ib.,  212. 

s  2  Jones,  Traditions,  278-80. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  67 

Among  many  of  the  tribes  we  find  a  mythical  tree  or  vine, 
which  has  a  sacredness  connected  with  it  of  peculiar  signifi 
cance.  It  always  forms  a  connecting  link  and  medium  of  com 
munication  between  the  world  of  the  living  and  the  dead.  It 
is  generally  used  by  the  spirits  as  a  ladder  to  pass  downward 
and  upward  upon,  when  their  religious  conceptions  have  located 
the  land  of  spirits  in  an  upper  empyrean.  The  Ojibways  had 
one  of  these  vines,  the  upper  end  of  which  was  twined  around 
a  star.  Many  traditions  are  told  of  attempts  to  climb  these 
heavenly  ladders.  These  myths  have  undoubtedly  found  place 
in  the  Indian  folk-lore  on  account  of  some  dream  many  times 
told  and  well  adapted  to  fill  a  want  in  the  human  mind.  The 
wish  has  become  father  to  the  thought,  and  a  way  to  the  spirit- 
land  over  the  vine  or  the  tree  has  been  found  just  as  satisfac 
tory  as  was  the  ladder  of  Jacob  to  the  ancient  Hebrew  world. 
If  a  young  man  has  been  much  favored  with  dreams,  and  the 
people  believe  he  has  the  art  of  looking  into  futurity,  the  path 
is  open  to  the  highest  honors.  The  future  prophet  puts  down 
his  dreams  in  pictographs,  and  when  he  has  a  collection  of 
these,  if  they  prove  true  in  any  respect,  then  this  record  of 
his  revelations  is  appealed  to  as  proof  of  his  prophetic  power. 
The  old  people  meet  together  and  consult  them,  for  the  whole 
nation  believe  in  these  revelations.  If  convinced,  they  give 
their  approval,  and  he  is  declared  a  national  prophet.1 

Among  the  Iroquois,  Hiawatha  gave  his  revelations  to  his 
nation  through  the  medium  of  dreams.2 

Many  of  the  mystic  ceremonies  of  the  Iroquois,  as  well  as 
those  of  all  the  other  tribes,  designed  for  the  cure  of  the  sick 
and  the  welfare  of  the  community,  have  been  dictated  by 
dreams  and  transmitted  as  a  sacred  heritage  from  generation 
to  generation. 

To  aid  in  bringing  on  dreams  and  visions,  drugs  were  used, 
especially  among  the  natives  of  the  Mexican  countries  and 
those  of  South  America.  The  Omaguas,  on  the  Amazon,  use 

1  I  Schoolcraft,  113-14.  2  Parkman's  Jesuits,  Ixxxii. 


68  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

narcotic  plants,  under  the  influence  of  which  they  are  subject 
to  extraordinary  visions.  The  inhabitants  of  the  West  Indian 
islands  snuffed  cahoba,  and  by  its  intoxicating  influence  put 
themselves  in  communication  with  the  spirits,  as  they  thought. 
The  Mundrucus  of  North  Brazil  would  administer  intoxicating 
drinks  to  seers,  who  would  discover  murderers  by  their  dreams. 
The  Peruvian  priests  threw  themselves  into  an  ecstatic  con 
dition  by  a  narcotic  drink,  called  tonca,  made  from  the  Datura 
sanguinea,  or  fetich  herb.  The  Mexican  priests  made  them 
selves  ecstatic  and  saw  spirits  by  the  use  of  intoxicating  drinks. 

Mr.  Heckewelder  describes  the  same  custom  among  the 
Delaware  medicine-men,  who  were  made  to  drink  decoctions 
of  an  intoxicating  nature  until  their  minds  became  bewildered, 
so  that  they  saw  extraordinary  visions.  The  North  Ameri 
can  Indians  held  intoxication  by  tobacco  to  be  supernatural 
ecstasy.1  This  accounts  for  their  use  of  tobacco  in  so  many 
of  their  religious  ceremonies. 

Tobacco  was  called  the  holy  herb  among  many  Brazilian 
tribes,  because  it  induced  visions  in  which  they  saw  spirits. 

1  2  Tylor,  416-17. 


CHAPTER    III. 

DOCTRINE   OF   SPIRITS  (CONTINUED). 

Worship  of  human  spirits  —  Ancestral  worship — Apotheosis — Culture-heroes — 
Fabulous  forms  assumed  by  mythical  beings — Gods  of  Mexico,  Central  Amer 
ica,  Bogota,  and  Peru — Idolatry — Its  primitive  forms  —  Grave-posts  roughly 
hewn  into  the  image  of  the  dead  and  worshipped — Its  later  form,  an  image  of 
the  deceased  containing  [his  ashes — Idolatry  in  aboriginal  art  —  Supposed 
vitality  of  idols. 

IN  his  earliest  state  of  culture  man  is  an  ignorant,  consistent, 
natural  spiritualist.  The  broader  spiritualism  of  savage  life  is 
more  full  and  thoroughly  consistent  than  that  of  modern  times. 

Mr.  Spencer  says,  "  It  is  unquestionably  true  that  the  first 
traceable  conception  of  a  supernatural  being  is  the  conception 
of  a  ghost."  "  Whatever  is  common  to  men's  minds  in  all 
stages  must  be  deeper  down  in  thought  than  whatever  is  pecu 
liar  to  men's  minds  in  higher  stages,  and  if  the  later  product 
admits  of  being  reached  by  modification  and  expansion  of  the 
earlier  product,  the  implication  is  that  it  has  been  so  reached." 
"  When,  instead  of  wandering  groups,  who  continually  leave  far 
behind  the  places  where  their  members  lie  buried,  we  come  to 
settled  groups  whose  burial-places  are  in  their  midst,  and 
among  whom  development  of  funeral  rites  is  thus  made  possi 
ble,  we  find  that  ghost-propitiation  becomes  an  established 
practice."  ' 

The  fear  of  spirits  inspired  acts  of  worship.  The  supersti 
tion  that  spiritual  agency  produced  personal  calamities  would 
naturally  develop  an  appeal  to  spirits,  together  with  rites  and 
ceremonies  intended  to  appease  their  malevolent  designs. 

Says  Schoolcraft,  "  The  Dacotahs  stand  in  fear  of  the  spirits 


1  I  Spencer,  305-6. 

69 


;o  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

of  the  departed,  because  they  thought  it  was  in  their  power  to 
injure  them  in  any  way  they  pleased."1  They  tried  to  keep  these 
spirits  pleased,  by  making  feasts  to  the  dead.2  They  prayed  to 
the  spirits  of  the  dead  for  intervention  in  their  behalf  in  the 
ordinary  pursuits  of  life.  Mr.  Prescott  gives  the  following 
prayer  as  a  specimen  :  "  Spirits  !  have  mercy  on  me,  and  show 
me  where  I  can  find  a  deer."  3  The  principal  dance  of  the  Da- 
cotahs  was  a  sacred  rite  in  honor  of  the  souls  of  their  dead.4 

The  Mandan  religious  ceremonies  consisted  in  acts  which 
they  supposed  appeased  the  spirits  of  their  dead.  They  crawled 
on  their  hands  and  knees  around  a  row  of  skulls  which  they 
kept  near  the  village.  They  cut  their  flesh  with  knives,  and 
prayed  to  and  conversed  with  the  spirits  of  their  dead,  which 
were  supposed  to  be  present  in  the  skulls.  The  women  would 
often  bring  their  work  and  sit  and  keep  company  with,  and 
talk  to,  the  skull  of  a  husband  for  hours  together.5 

The  Koniagas  worshipped  dead  whalers  just  before  they 
started  on  a  whaling-expedition,  and  the  Kadiaks  seemed  more 
attracted  to  the  dead  than  to  the  living.  Their  mourning  cere 
monies  were  very  elaborate  and  of  a  religious  nature.  Sac 
rifices  were  often  made  to  their  dead. 

The  Thlinkeets,  Kenai,  and  Tinneh  celebrated  annual  festivals 
jji_£Dmmemoration  of  the  dead.  One  of  the  most  important 
religious  ceremonies  of  the  Ojibways  was  the  feast  of  the  dead, 
when  they  kindled  a  fire  at  their  graves,  and  burned  meat  in 
sacrifice.  They  prayed  to  the  dead.6  They  always  offered  a 
portion  of  their  daily  food  to  the  spirits  of  the  dead  by  putting 
it  on  the  fire,  where  it  burned  while  they  were  eating.7  The 
Virginians  worshipped  the  manes  of  those  buried  in  their  tu 
muli.  The  Abipones  of  Paraguay  had  annual  religious  cere 
monies  to  the  spirits  of  their  dead.  The  Guaranies  also  wor 
shipped  their  dead,  and  carried  round  with  them  little  boxes 
containing  their  relics. 

1  2  Schoolcraft,  195.  2  2  ib.,  199.         3  2  ib.,  226. 

4  Eastman's  Legends,  33.  s  i  Catlin's  Illustrations,  90. 

6  Jones,  Ojibways,  98.  7  Beach,  Ind.  Mis.,  376. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  71 

The  Mexicans  worshipped  the  spirits  of  all  women  that  died 
in  childbed.  There  were  oratories  raised  to  their  honor  in 
every  ward  that  had  two  streets  crossing.  In  these  were  kept 
images  of  them.  The  famous  superstitions  the  world  over 
about  cross-roads  are  familiar,  probably,  to  the  reader.  These 
haunted  places  where  two  roads  cross  are  appropriate  localities 
for  the  spirits  of  mother  and  child  who  die  together.  The 
Mexican  cross-roads  were  their  favorite  haunts,  and  on  certain 
days  of  the  year  the  people  made  offerings  at  the  cross-roads 
of  bread  kneaded  into  figures  of  butterflies,  also  toasted  maize. 

Cihuacoatl  appears  to  have  been  the  patroness  of  such  women. 
They  prayed  to  her  in  their  trouble.  If  they  died  before  child 
birth  the  body  was  sacred,  and  every  effort  was  made  to  steal 
it,  to  be  divided  into  amulets.  Hence  it  was  guarded  for  four 
days  and  nights  by  the  family  of  the  deceased.  What  a  remark 
able  proof  that  spiritism  was  the  secret  of  their  religious  life! 
The  value  of  these  bodies  consisted  in  their  being  surcharged 
with  a  double  portion  of  spiritual  power.  The  superstition  can 
find  no  other  rational  explanation  than  this.  The  grave  of  the 
unfortunate  woman  was  turned  into  a  bivouac  of  armed  forces. 
The  body  they  guarded  was  a  holy  relic,  which  many  were 
eager  to  win,  who  prowled  around  the  nightly  camp-fires  of  the 
little  band  that  guarded  her  grave.  Wizards  watched  for  a 
chance  to  obtain  a  left  arm  of  the  dead  wife,  which  had  a  special 
power  in  their  profession.1 

Among  the  praises  sung  to  her  by  the  mourners  of  her  fate 
were  many  clothed  in  all  the  beauty  of  a  matchless  verbiage : 
"  O  woman  strong  and  toil-enduring!  O  child  beloved,  beauti 
ful  and  tender  dove  !  Thou  hast  conquered !  Up  with  thee  ! 
Break  from  sleep !  Already  the  morning  shoots  through  the 
clouds.  Thither,  to  the  house  of  thy  father,  let  thy  sisters,  the 
celestial  women,  carry  thee."  2 

The  savages  that  inhabited  the  banks  of  the  Orinoco  wor 
shipped  the  dead,  and  their  skeletons  were  hung  up  in  rude 

1  3  Bancroft,  364.  2  3  ib.,  366. 


72  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

huts  or  temples.  All  the  bones  of  their  dead  were  kept  like  so 
many  relics. 

"  The  rudimentary  form  of  all  religion,"  says  Mr.  Spencer, 
"is  the  propitiation  of  dead  ancestors."  The  worship  of  human 
spirits  is  more  universal  than  pure  ancestral  worship.  It  is 
doubtful  whether  ancestral  worship  is  comprehensive  enough 
to  explain  all  the  facts  connected  with  the  worship  of  spirits. 
It  is  limited  in  its  definition,  and  the  worship  of  spirits  is  in 
clusive  of  it  as  well  as  all  other  worship  of  pagan  peoples. 

Ancestral  worship  is  found  in  America  connected  with  the 
.worship  of  human  spirits.  It  was  most  prevalent  among  the 
more  civilized  peoples,  but  nowhere  had  it  assumed  that  elab- 
jf  orate  form  found  among  the  Chinese.  Ancestral  worship 
might  properly  be  called  thejstate religion  of  Pexu.  The  living 
Jngas  worshipped  their  royal  ancestors.  The  Peruvian  village 
Indians  worshipped  the  founder  of  the  village  from  whom  they 
claimed  descent;  the  village  patrons  were  the  mummies  of 
these  ancestral  aboriginal  inhabitants.1  In  addition,  each  family 
worshipped  the  bodies  of  its  ancestors,  which  were  often 
adorned  with  costly  garments,  and  had  priests  attached  to 
them  who  made  the  offerings.2  These  dead  bodies  were  wor 
shipped  every  day.3  Some  of  the  Peruvians  would  carry  the 
dried  corpses  of  their  parents  around  the  fields,  that  they  might 
see  the  state  of  the  crops. 

Among  the  natives  of  Trinidad  Island,  feasts  are  held  in 
honor  of  their  ancestors,  at  which  they  worship  them.  The 
natives  of  the  Ladrone  Islands  worshipped  the  bones  of  their 
ancestors,  which  they  kept  oiled  in  their  houses. 

The  Haytians  called  their  ancestors  zemis,  and  worshipped 
them.  Some  zemis  were  bad,  and  sent  diseases,  hurricanes, 
and  other  catastrophes ;  others  were  good.  Some  were  male, 
some  female. 

At  the  annual  feast  to  the  dead  among  the  Central  American 
tribes,  the  relatives  prostrated  themselves  and  called  loudly 

1  Arriaga,  89.  2  Ib.,  14.  3  Ib.,  63. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  73 

upon  the  dead.  The  Woolwas  placed  a  gruel  of  maize  on  the 
grave  for  some  time  after  burial.1 

The  Tlascaltecs  had  an  annual  festival  of  the  dead,  when  the 
lords  and  priests  spent  several  days  in  the  temple  weeping  for 
their  ancestors,  and  singing  their  heroic  deeds.  The  families 
of  lately  deceased  persons  assembled  upon  the  terraces  of  their 
houses,  and  prayed  to  their  dead  heroes  who  had  fallen  in  battle, 
who  were  rewarded  with  canonization,  and  their  statues  placed 
among  the  images  of  the  gods.2 

The  Aztecs  had  two  festivals  of  the  dead  each  year,  at  which 
they  burned  incense  and  made  offerings  to  the  dead  in  the 
temples,  and  the  people  blackened  their  bodies  and  prayed  to 
their  dead  relatives.  The  Miztecs  had  an  annual  festival  to  the 
dead,  which  was  kept  in  all  its  primitive  significance.  On  the 
eve  of  that  day  the  house  was  prepared  as  if  for  a  feast.  A 
quantity  of  food  was  spread  upon  the  table,  and  the  inmates 
went  out  with  torches  in  their  hands,  bidding  the  spirits  enter  to 
the  feast.  They  then  returned  and  squatted  around  the  table 
with  crossed  hands  and  eyes  lowered  to  the  ground,  for  it  was 
thought  the  spirits  would  be  offended  if  looked  upon.  In  this 
position  they  remained  till  morning,  praying  to  their  unseen 
visitors.  The  food  was  supposed  to  have  had  all  its  virtue 
extracted  by  these  spirits.3 

Speaking  of  ancestral  worship  among  the  Northern  tribes, 
Mr.  Henry  says,  in  his  captivity  among  those  about  Lake 
Superior,  that  at  their  feasts  the  master  of  ceremonies  calls 
upon  the  manes  of  deceased  relatives  to  be  present  and  par 
take  of  the  food  which  has  been  prepared  for  them,  and  to 
assist  them  in  the  chase.  They  offer  at  every  feast,  and 
almost  all  their  meals,  a  portion  of  their  food  to  their  dead 
ancestors. 

Among  the  New  England  Indians  ancestral  worship  is  seen 
in  their  reverence  for  the  souls  of  their  forefathers,  which  had 
gone  to  the  southwest,  to  the  court  of  their  great  god  Cantan- 

1  i  Bancroft,  745.  2  2  ib.,  331.  3  2  ib.,  622-23. 


74  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

towit,  whose  anthropomorphic  and  ancestral  character  is  seen 
in  the  traditionary  accounts  of  him.1 

Among  the  Mandans  there  was  a  tradition  of  a  first  man  who 
promised  to  be  their  helper  in  time  of  need,  and  went  away. 
It  came  to  pass  that  the.  Mandans  were  attacked  by  foes.  One 
Mandan  proposed  to  send  a  bird  to  the  great  ancestor  to  ask 
for  help ;  but  it  was  decided  no  bird  could  fly  so  far.  Another 
thought  a  look  would  reach  him  :  but  the  hills  walled  him  in. 

o 

Then  said  the  third,  thought  must  be  the  surest  way  to  reach 
the  first  man.  He  wrapped  himself  in  his  buffalo  robe,  fell 
down,  and  thought  a  prayer.2 

The  Mingo  tribes  revere  and  make  offerings  to  the  first  man. 
Many  Mississippi  tribes  say  the  first  man  ascended  into  heaven 
and  thunders  there.3 

The  principal  god  of  the  Maypuris,  of  Brazil,  was  Eno,  from 
whom  they  claimed  descent  as  an  ancestor.  This  word  Eno 
forms  the  root  of  the  word  for  man  in  the  dialects  of  the  Panos, 
Guaranies,  Omaguas,  and  other  tribes  who  have  probably  de 
scended  from  the  same  ancestor. 

The  Moquis  worshipped  a  great  father  and  mother  from 
whom  they  sprang.  Traditionary  first  parents  in  many  tribes 
were  deified,  and  often  figured  in  the  role  of  creators.  Among 
the  Dog-Ribs,  Chapewee,  the  first  man,  was  creator  of  sun  and 
moon. 

The  Nicaraguans  said  Tamagostad,  a  man,  and  Cipattonal, 
a  woman,  from  whom  they  descended,  made  heaven  and  earth, 
and  they  were  their  gods  whom  they  served.  They  formerly 
walked  on  the  earth,  and  were  just  like  them.  The  remotest 
ancestors  that  are  remembered  have  become  divinities,  remain 
ing  human  in  physical  and  mental  attributes,  and  differing  only 
in  power.4  The  mythical  creator  of  the  natives  of  the  Antilles 
was  their  ancestor. 

The  cosmogony  of  the  tribes  of  interior  California  shows 


1  Williams's  Key,  21.  a  2  Tylor,  311. 

3  2  ib.,  312.  •*  I  Spencer,  313. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  75 

the  anthropomorphic  character  of  their  creator,  for  the  world 
was  produced  by  union  of  brother  and  sister,  she  protesting 
against  the  incest  ineffectually.  From  this  union  sprang  all 
animate  creation,  and  even  inanimate,  according  to  some 
authors.1  They  claimed  that  these  creators  were  not  of  the 
human  family,  but  this  assumption  on  behalf  of  an  apotheosized 
ancestor  is  generally  found  among  all  the  tribes.  The  tradi 
tions  reveal  their  nature,  for  their  progeny  was  Ouiot,  an  ances 
tral  chief,  who  was  plainly  a  historical  character.2  Some  time 
after  the  death  of  Ouiot,  whose  tyranny  led  to  his  destruction  by 
poisoning,  arose  the  great  Chinigchinich,  a  leader  and  founder 
of  the  order  of  sorcerers.  His  life  was  one  of  beneficence, 
and  his  memory  was  revered  among  the  Indians  of  California. 
He  was  deified  and  much  worship  paid  to  him.  He  looks  down 
upon  them  from  the  stars.3 

The  worship  of  living  persons  who,  on  account  of  some 
physical  peculiarity  or  mental  superiority,  are  supposed  to  have 
within  them  an  incarnated  spirit,  is  found  in  America,  and  is 
not  inconsistent  with  their  worship  of  the  dead.  Diaz  men 
tions  a  curious  case  :  "  In  the  centre  of  the  Chiapanese  army 
was  a  woman,  aged  and  immoderately  fat,  who  was  esteemed 
by  them  a  goddess  and  had  promised  them  the  victory."4 

D'Acugna  also  mentions  the  case  of  an  Indian  of  a  Brazilian 
tribe,  who  presumptously  set  himself  up  to  be  a  god  and  re 
ceived  the  homage  of  a  great  many. 

Mr.  Dobrizhoffer  mentions  the  case  of  an  Indian  sorcerer 
at  the  town  of  St.  Joaquin,  in  Paraguay,  who  was  adored  as  a 
divine  person  by  a  lot  of  foolish  women.5 

The  Indians  of  Tolteque  worshipped  an  old  Indian  whom 
they  had  dressed  up  in  a  particular  way  and  installed  in  a  hut, 
where  they  offered  sacrifices  to  him.  His  godship,  who  had  no 
manner  of  work  to  do,  was  regaled  with  all  the  good  things 
the  village  afforded,  and  willingly  sustained  the  character  he 


1  Boscana's  Chinigchinich,  Tr.  in  Life  in  Cal.,  243.       a  Ib.,  246. 

3  Ib.,  254-56.  4  Diaz,  61.  5  2  Dobriz.,  8l. 


76  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

had  been  made  to  assume.  A  great  many  instances  of  such 
worship  of  the  living  are  found. 

"  It  was  the  custom  of  the  natives  of  New  England,  at  the 
apprehension  of  any  excellency  in  men  or  women,  to  cry  out, 
'  Manitou  !'  which  means,  '  he  is  a  god !'  This  they  do  if  they 
see  one  man  excel  others  in  wisdom,  valor,  and  strength.  They 
called  the  English  '  gods.'  "  x 

Anything  which  transcends  the  ordinary,  the  savage  thinks 
of  as  supernatural.  The  remarkable  man  or  hero  shares  this 
superstitious  reverence.  This  remarkable  man  may  be  simply 
the  remotest  ancestor,  remembered  as  the  founder  of  the  tribe. 
He  may  be  a  chief  famed  for  strength  and  courage.  He  may 
be  a  sorcerer  of  great  repute.  He  maybe  an  inventor  of  some 
thing  new  that  is  useful.  He  may  be  a  stranger  of  superior 
race,  who  brings  to  them  arts  and  knowledge.  Whoever  he  is, 
if  he  is  regarded  with  awe  during  life  he  will  be  regarded  with 
increased  awe  after  death.  The  propitiation  of  his  ghost  being 
sought  more  than  the  propitiation  of  ghosts  less  feared,  he  will 
become  a  culture-hero,  with  an  established  worship. 

The  apotheosis  after  death  of  those  who  have  become  dis 
tinguished  in  life  as  benefactors  or  rulers  renders  them  the 
objects  of  a  general  worship,  which  is  not  ancestral  because 
participated  in  by  all. 

Montezuma  appears  to  have  been  worshipped  by  the  New 
Mexican  tribes.  They  extol  his  miraculous  powers.  He 
planted  maize  at  night  which  in  the  morning  was  grown  and 
ripened.  He  was  immaculately  conceived  by  a  drop  of  dew 
falling  on  the  exposed  breast  of  his  mother  as  she  lay  asleep 
in  a  beautiful  grove.2  The  estufas  are  Montezuma's  churches, 
where  they  worship  him. 

The  Arawaks  had  a  culture-hero,  named  Arawanili,  who 
appears  in  their  traditions  to  have  been  the  discoverer  and 
founder  of  their  system  of  sorcery.  Before  his  time  the  spirits 
inflicted  continual  misery  on  mankind,  but  by  this  mystery 

1  Williams's  Key,  in.  a  Cozzens's  Marvellous  Country,  434-35. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  77 

they  could  be  restrained  in  their  practices.  Arawanili  was 
translated  without  death.  He  appears  to  be  the  principal  deity 
of  the  Arawaks.1 

A  famous  god  among  the  Caribs  was  Bohito  I.,  who  was 
evidently  an  early  priest  and  legislator.  He  is  said  to  have 
established  sorcery.  Bohito  II.  introduced  medical  knowledge 
and  the  burning  of  the  dead,  and  was  apotheosized.  Bonito  III. 
brought  music  to  them.2  This  trimurti  appeared  to  stand  at 
the  head  of  the  Haytian  pantheon.3  Another  prominent  figure 
was  Oubekeyeri  (man  from  above),  who  introduced  agriculture 
and  house-building.4 

The  worship  of  dead  chiefs  prevailed  among  the  more  civ 
ilized  peoples.  Balboa  says  the  Peruvians  worshipped  all  their 
dead  chiefs,  and  offered  them  sacrifices  at  certain  seasons  of 
the  year.  An  ancient  Curaca,  mentioned  by  Cieza,  was  wor 
shipped  with  great  reverence  by  many  villages.  His  body  was 
in  a  grotto  under  a  tent,  with  a  diadem  on  its  head,  and  mag 
nificently  clothed.  The  Indians  did  not  even  dare  to  look 
upon  him.  He  had  been  a  just  and  wise  counsellor  of  one  of 
the  Incas. 

The  Mexicans  in  their  great  feast  of  the  tenth  month  gave 
divine  names  to  their  dead  chiefs  and  other  famous  persons 
who  had  died  in  war.  Idols  were  made  in  the  image  of  these 
persons  and  put  with  the  other  deities.  Says  Camargo,  "  They 
then  called  them  Teotl  so-and-so,  meaning  god  or  Saint  so- 
and-so."  The  Mayas  worshipped  their  dead  chiefs!  Among 
the  Isthmians  a  dead -chief  was  dried  and  hung  up  in  his  own 
palace,  and  on  the  anniversary  of  his  death  food  was  brought 
to  him.  The  arms  which  he  formerly  used,  and  models  of  the 
canoes  he  used,  were  placed  in  the  presence  of  the  body.  They 
then  celebrated  a  festival  in  his  honor. 

There  was  a  tendency  among  all  the  tribes  to  deify  heroes. 
Thus  originates  the  worship  of  particular  gods.  Among  primi- 


1  Brett,  292-93.  2  i  Rafinesque,  American  Nations,  189-92. 

3  i  ib.,  189-92.  4  i  ib.,  196. 

6 


;8  PRIMITIVE   SUPERSTITIONS. 

tive  peoples  the  ghosts  and  manes  of  the  dead  are  feared.  Su 
perstitious  fear  of  these  ghostly  spirits  pervades  the  savage 
communities.  There  is  not,  however,  among  such  a  people,  as 
yet,  a  pantheon,  nor  has  such  pre-eminence  been  attained  by 
any  member  of  a  savage  tribe  as  to  entitle  him  to  deification. 
Equality  in  the  social  status  of  peoples  seldom  produces 
apotheosis.  Giants  are  the  first  mythical  heroes  that  emerge 
from  the  chaos  of  their  past  Nameless  generally,  they  are 
only  identified  with  a  locality.  Gradually,  however,  as  nations 
emerge  from  a  condition  of  barbarism,  leaders  of  these  pro 
gressive  movements  become  culture-heroes ;  and  if,  perchance, 
in  these  progressive  movements  a  despotic  form  of  government 
should  arise,  under  the  leadership  of  a  man  of  despotic  nature, 
and  be  isolated  amid  a  surrounding  barbarism,  the  religious 
condition  of  such  a  people  will  and  must  be  deplorable.  All 
the  paraphernalia  of  apotheosis  will  lend  its  glitter  to  the  ex 
altation  of  the  despot,  but  at  the  expense  of  the  spiritual 
degradation  of  the  people.  Costly  funeral  ceremonies  and 
magnificent  tombs  at  the  monarch's  death  will  be  followed  by 
as  abject  a  spiritual  worship  as  was  the  homage  given  him  in 
life.  Human  sacrifices  will  soon  be  added  to  the  offerings  with 
which  his  tomb-temple  has  been  filled.  Human  sacrifice  is  a 
very  convenient  way  of  disposing  of  the  multitudes  of  barbarous 
captives  taken  in  the  wars.  Besides  this,  the  apotheosized 
warrior  king  will  delight  in  the  blood  of  his  enemies,  who  are 
now  sent  to  be  his  slaves  in  the  spirit-world.  Very  soon  a 
myth  of  immaculate  conception  will  account  for  the  birth  of  so 
elevated  a  personage,  and  if,  perchance,  another  monarch  of 
similar  courage  or  virtue  appears,  then  an  incarnation,  accord 
ing  to  the  doctrine  of  transmigration,  is  accorded  him.  The 
last  great  act  in  the  drama  of  apotheosis  will  be  translation. 
Death  must  be  robbed  of  this  one  victim,  that  the  triumph  of 
the  hero  may  not  be  limited.  Then  comes  a  myth  of  transla 
tion,  and  we  have  a  full-fledged  heathen  god,  with  a  personality, 
and  a  name,  and  a  throne,  and  a  court,  and  a  moral  nature  no 
different  from  that  of  the  living  king.  This  is  the  thread  that 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS. 


79 


runs  through  the  mythological  story  of  every  civilized  people, 
and  especially  is  it  true  of  the  civilized  American  nations.  Be 
fore  taking  up  the  pantheons  of  the  more  civilized  races,  let 
us  notice  some  of  the  culture-heroes  and  mythical  characters 
that  can  be  found  among  the  more  uncivilized  tribes. 

Torngarsuk  is  the  principal  god  of  the  Greenlanders.  The 
most  popular  representation  of  him  is  as  a  giant  with  one  arm. 
He  is  the  one  consulted  by  the  Angekoks  in  disease.  But 
Torngarsuk's  wife  or  mother,  the  stories  do  not  agree  which, 
is  the  most  feared  of  any  of  their  deities.  She  is  reputed 
by  many  to  be  the  daughter  of  the  famous  Angekok  who 
tore  Disko  Island  from  the  continent,  near  Baals  River,  and 
towed  it  a  hundred  miles  farther  north.  She  lives  under  the 
ocean  in  a  large  house.  Sea-fowls  swim  about  in  the  tub  of 
train-oil  under  her  lamp.  Seals,  exceedingly  vicious,  guard 
the  portals  of  her  palace.1  Her  human  character  is  unques 
tionable. 

Another  god  is  Innertirrirsok,  who  is  spirit  of  the  air.  Er- 
loersortok  is  a  ghastly  character  in  their  pantheon,  who  feeds 
upon  the  intestines  of  the  dead.2 

The  Ingnersuit  are  fabulous  beings  that  live  beneath  the 
surface  of  the  earth,  in  cliffs  along  the  sea-shore.  They  are 
often  seen  entering  through  mounds  of  turf.  They  have  the 
shape  of  men,  and  their  life  is  like  the  Greenlander's.  They  act 
as  the  guardian  spirits  of  the  Kayakers.  But  they  are  not  all 
good.  Some  without  noses  persecute  the  Kayakers.3 

The  Kayarissat  are  giant  Kayakers.  They  raise  storms 
and  bring  bad  weather.  The  Mermen  are  fabulous  creatures 
who  inhabit  the  sea.  They  are  fond  of  fox-flesh,  which  is  sac 
rificed  to  them.  The  Toruit  are  inland  giants,  living  under  the 
earth.  They  enter  through  places  hidden  by  vegetation.  They, 
however,  go  to  sea  in  foggy  weather,  without  kayaks,  sitting  on 
the  surface  of  the  water.  The  Erkigdlit  have  the  shape  of  man 
in  the  upper  part  of  their  body,  but  are  dogs  in  their  lower 

1  i  Crantz,  190-91.  2  Egede,  185-86.  3  Rink,  46. 


8o  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

limbs.1  These  deities  of  the  Greenlanders  are  evidently  anthro 
pomorphic. 

Manabozho  undoubtedly  occupies  the  Olympic  throne  in 
the  Ojibway  pantheon.  He  was  no  more  nor  less  than  a  great 
brave  and  chief,  about  whom  many  folk-tales  are  told.  Mana 
bozho  lives  in  a  wigwam,  with  two  squaws  to  make  up  his 
family  circle.  The  Ojibways  did  not  ascribe  omnipotence  to 
him.  Their  crude  ideas  of  the  helplessness  of  their  gods  when 
involved  in  difficulties  is  illustrated  by  a  story  they  tell  of 
Manabozho.  They  say  he  went  up  into  a  tree-top  to  stop  a 
noise  produced  by  two  branches  rubbing  against  each  other. 
When  he  had  pulled  the  branches  apart  they  sprang  together 
again  and  caught  Manabozho  and  held  him  suspended  for  three 
whole  days.  His  appeals  to  the  animals  resulted  in  jibes  and 
ridicule,  and  the  wolves  ate  up  his  breakfast  which  he  left 
under  the  tree.  A  bear  at  last  helped  him  out  of  his  difficulty. 
When  he  returned  home  he  gave  both  of  his  wives  a  severe 
beating,2 — a  touch  of  human  depravity  surviving  in  a  god. 

Manabozho  had  three  brothers,  named  Chibiabos,  Wabasso, 
and  Chokanipok.  This  last  he  accused  of  killing  his  mother, 
because  he  was  the  last  born  of  quadruplets,  whose  birth  re 
sulted  in  her  death.  He  destroyed  him,  after  many  contests. 
Wabasso  went  north,  and  was  changed  into  a  white  rabbit,  and 
is  considered  a  great  spirit.  Chibiabos  and  Manabozho  lived 
together  in  great  happiness,  until  Chibiabos,  venturing  out  on 
the  ice  too  far  one  day,  was  drowned.  Manabozho  made  the 
shores  resound  with  his  wails  of  sorrow  on  account  of  the  death 
of  his  brother.  Such  was  the  mythological  family  from  whom 
the  Algonkin  tribes  trace  descent.  In  a  war  between  the  tur 
tles  and  Manabozho  he  barely  escaped  destruction  in  a  flood 
produced  by  the  turtles.  He  reached  a  place  of  safety,  how 
ever,  carrying  his  grandmother  under  his  arm.  She  is  a  prom 
inent  character  in  their  traditions,  and  is  called  the  great-grand 
mother  of  all.  She  remains  at  home  in  her  lodge  all  the  time, 

1  Rink's  Traditions,  47.  a  Kohl's  Kitchi-Gami,  388-89. 


DOCTRINE   OF  SPIRITS.  8 1 

in  order  that  no  one  may  call  on  her  in  vain.  They  thus  deny 
her  omnipresence.1 

Manabozho  discovered  that  the  maple-tree  could  produce 
sugar.  He  killed  the  ancient  monsters  of  their  traditions, 
whose  bones  are  frequently  found.  He  cleared  the  streams  of 
obstructions.  He  has  now  gone  to  live  on  an  immense  flake 
of  ice  in  the  Arctic  Ocean.2 

Manabozho  was  the  reputed  ancestor  of  the  Algonkin  race. 
He  was  the  inventor  of  picture-writing,  the  founder  of  Meda 
worship,  the  maker  of  the  earth,  the  sun,  and  moon.  From  a 
grain  of  sand  he  fashioned  the  habitable  land,  and  set  it  float 
ing  on  the  waters,  till  it  grew  to  such  a  size  that  a  young  wolf, 
running  constantly,  died  of  old  age  ere  he  reached  its  limits. 
Manabozho  was  a  mighty  hunter  of  old.  The  Great  Lakes 
were  the  beaver-dams  he  built,  and  when  the  cataracts  impeded 
his  progress  he  tore  them  away  with  his  hands.  After  watch 
ing  the  spiders  spread  their  webs  to  trap  flies,  he  devised  the 
art  of  making  nets  to  catch  fish.  In  the  autumn,  ere  he  com 
poses  himself  to  sleep,  he  fills  his  pipe  and  takes  a  godlike 
smoke,  and  the  clouds  float  over  the  hills  and  woodlands,  filling 
the  air  with  the  haze  of  an  Indian  summer.3 

He  was  reputed  to  have  been  born  at  Mackinaw.  Accord 
ing  to  ancient  tradition,  there  is  a  chain  of  mountains  and  an 
immense  lake  to  the  northwest  of  Lake  Superior — probably 
meaning  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Pacific  Ocean — where 
he  was  particularly  fond  of  living.4 

This  god,  says  Father  Allouez,  according  to  the  traditions 
of  the  natives,  crossed  at  a  single  step  a  bay  eight  leagues  in 
width.  Manabozho  once  went  angling  for  the  king  of  fishes, 
but  was  swallowed,  canoe  and  all.  He  smote  the  monster's 
heart  with  his  war-club  till  the  fish  would  fain  have  cast  him  up 
into  the  lake  again,  but  the  hero  set  his  canoe  fast  across  the 
fish's  throat  inside  and  finished  slaying  him.  When  the  dead 


1  Tanner's  Narrative,  192.  2  i  Schoolcraft,  317-19. 

3  Brinton's  Myths,  176-77.  4  Chateaubriand's  Travels,  41-42. 


82  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

monster  drifted  ashore,  the  gulls  pecked  an  opening,  through 
which  Manabozho  came  out.1 

With  entire  unanimity  all  branches  of  the  Algonkins,  includ 
ing  the  Powhatans  of  Virginia,  the  Delawares,  the  warlike  hordes 
of  New  England,  the  Ottawas  of  the  far  North,  and  the  Western 
tribes,  spoke  of  this  "  chimerical  beast,"  as  one  of  the  old  mis 
sionaries  calls  him,  as  their  common  ancestor.  The  totem  of  the 
great  hare,  whose  name  he  bore,  was  looked  upon  with  respect.2 

He  has  not  always  borne  the  ludicrous  character  that  has 
been  given  him  latterly.  Mr.  Brinton  thinks  it  passing  strange 
that  such  an  insignificant  creature  as  a  hare  should  receive  this 
apotheosis,  and  says,  "  No  explanation  of  it  in  the  least  satisfac 
tory  has  ever  been  offered."  The  totemic  system  of  the  Indians 
is  a  solution  of  it.  Manabozho,  a  hero  of  the  gens  of  the  hare, 
has  distinguished  himself  in  their  early  history,  and  the  process 
of  deification  has  gradually  gone  on,  with  an  accretion  of  folk 
tales  and  traditions,  in  which  his  acts  have  become  more  and 
more  superhuman,  until  nothing  was  too  great  for  Manabozho. 

Wabun,  Kabun,  Kabibonocca,  and  Shawana  are  four  Algon- 
kin  gods,  who  preside  over  the  winds  from  the  cardinal  points. 
These  gods  of  the  winds  were  ancestral  spirits.  Shingebiss 
was  a  mythical  character  of  the  Ojibways.  He  had  probably 
been  an  early  sorcerer  in  that  tribe,  for  they  have  many  stones 
to  tell  of  his  metamorphoses.  His  great  triumph  over  the  god 
of  the  weather  is  curiously  told  in  one  of  their  folk-tales.  How 
he  managed  to  live  nobody  knew :  it  was  a  mystery  to  the  wild 
foresters  around  him.  Yet  on  the  coldest  day  he  would  catch 
fish.  His  success  enraged  Kabibonocca,  god  of  the  northwest, 
who  sends  the  cold  and  storms,  and  he  determined  to  freeze 
him  out.  He  poured  the  cold  blasts  of  the  north  upon  him 
and  piled  up  the  snow-drifts.  Failing  in  this,  he  decided  to 
visit  Shingebiss  in  person,  and  entered  his  lodge  one  night, 
while  he  sat  by  the  burning  logs ;  Kabibonocca  began  to  melt, 
and  he  was  glad  to  leave  the  imperturbable  Shingebiss  to  enjoy 

1  i  Tylor,  337.  a  Brinton,  175. 


DOCTRINE   OF  SPIRITS.  83 

his  warm  fire.    Shingebiss  had  thereafter  the  reputation  of  being 
a  great  spirit  who  was  too  much  for  the  god  of  the  wind.1 

"  Windy  god  !  I  know  your  plan  : 
You  are  but  my  fellow -man  ; 
Blow  you  may  your  coldest  breeze, 
Shingebiss  you  cannot  freeze." 

The  Waindegoos  were  giants  as  tall  as  pine-trees.  They 
were  invulnerable  and  cannibals,  and  passed  through  the  forests 
as  a  man  does  through  grass.2  They  had  the  human  form,  as 
had  also  the  famous  giant  god  called  Aggodagoda,  who  was 
uniped.  He  hopped  over  rivers  and  valleys  at  a  bound.3 
Among  the  Ojibways  there  was  a  god  called  Pabookowaih, 
the  god  that  crushed  diseases ;  also  a  goddess  Wahneetis,  god 
dess  of  health,4  who  was  his  spouse.  The  worship  of  these 
gods  was  undoubtedly  confined  to  a  family  or  gens,  as  they 
had  no  tribal  reputation.  Their  images  were  of  human  form. 

The  name  of  one  of  the  Dacotah  divinities  is  Wahkeenyan. 
His  teepee  is  supposed  to  be  on  a  mound  on  the  top  of  a  high 
mountain  in  the  far  west.  The  teepee,  or  tent,  has  four  open 
ings,  with  sentinels  clothed  in  red  down.  A 
butterfly  is  stationed  at  the  east,  a  bear  at  the 
west,  a  fawn  at  the  south,  and  a  reindeer  at 
the  north  entrance.  He  is  supposed  to  pro 
duce  the  thunder.  He  has  a  bitter  enmity 
against  Unktayhee,  and  attempts  to  kill  his 
offspring.  The  high  water  and  floods  were 
supposed  to  be  caused  by  his  shooting 
through  the  earth  and  allowing  the  water 
to  flow  out.  When  the  lightning  strikes  their  teepees  or  the 
ground,  they  think  that  Unktayhee  was  near  the  surface  of  the 
earth,  and  that  Wahkeenyan,  in  great  rage,  fired  a  hot  thunder 
bolt  at  him.5  Fig.  I  is  a  representation  of  this  god  hurling 
these  thunderbolts,  and  shows  his  human  form. 

1  3  Schoolcraft,  324-25.  2  Jones's  Ojibways,  156-60. 

3  3  Schoolcraft,  521.  4  Jones's  Ojibways,  87. 

5  I  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  267,  seq. 


84  PRIMITIVE   SUPERSTITIONS. 

The  Jupiter  Maximus  of  the  Dacotahs  is  named  Unktayhee. 
He  fills  the  role  of  creator.  He  made  man  in  this  manner. 
The  earth  being  finished,  he  took  a  deity,  one  of  his  own  offspring, 
and,  grinding  him  to  powder,  sprinkled  it  upon  the  earth,  and 
this  produced  many  worms.  These  matured  into  infants,  which 
became  full-grown  Dacotahs.  They  think  the  bones  of  the 
mastodon  are  the  bones  of  this  god,  and  preserve  them  with 
great  care.1  Morgan's  Bluff,  near  Fort  Snelling,  is  the  residence 
of  Unktayhee.  Under  the  hill,  they  say,  is  a  subterranean 
passage  for  the  use  of  the  god.  They  often  pretend  to  see 
this  god  passing  through  the  air  and  over  the  hill,2  and  repre 
sent  him  with  human  form. 

Heyoka  is  the  antinatural  god  of  the  Dacotahs.  He  ap 
pears  in  four  forms  ;  sometimes  as  a  tall  and  slender  man  with 

two  faces,  like  the  Janus  of  an 
cient  mythology.  He  holds  a 
bow  in  his  hand  streaked  with 
red  lightning ;  also  a  rattle  of 
deer-claws.  The  second  form 
is  a  little  old  man  with  a  cocked 
hat  and  enormous  ears,  holding 
a  yellow  bow.  The  third,  a  man 
with  a  flute  suspended  from  his 
neck.  The  fourth  is  invisible 
and  mysterious,  and  is  the  gen 
tle  zephyr  which  moves  the 
grass  and  causes  the  ripple  of 
the  water.  Heyoka  is  a  perfect 

paradox.  He  calls  bitter  sweet,  and  sweet  bitter;  he  groans 
when  he  is  full  of  joy,  he  laughs  when  he  is  in  distress ;  in 
winter  he  goes  naked,  and  in  summer  wraps  up  in  buffalo  robes. 
Those  whom  he  inspires  can  make  the  winds  blow  and  the  rains 
fall.3  He  uses  a  frog  for  an  arrow-point.  He  keeps  a  zoo- 


I  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  267,  seq.  a  Eastman,  210. 

3  i  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  268,  seq. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  85 

logical  garden  within  his  court-yard.  Among  the  animals  are  a 
deer,  elk,  and  buffalo.  He  hurls  meteors  at  his  enemies  in  self- 
defence,  and  uses  the  lightning  which  surrounds  his  house  to 
kill  his  game  with.1  Fig.  2  is  a  representation  of  this  god. 

Takinshkanshkan  is  a  deity  of  the  Dacotahs,  and  is  sup 
posed  to  be  invisible,  yet  everywhere  present.  He  is  full  of 
revenge,  exceedingly  wrathful,  very  deceitful,  and  a  searcher 
of  hearts.  His  favorite  haunts  are  the  four  winds  and  the 
granite  boulders  strewn  on  the  plains  of  Minnesota.  He  is 
never  so  happy  as  when  he  beholds  scalps  warm  and  reeking 
with  blood.2  The  East,  West,  North,  and  South  each  had  a 
deity  presiding  over  them,  but  of  an  undoubtedly  anthropo 
morphic  character.  The  translation  of  the  names  indicates  Man 
of  the  East,  Man  of  the  West,  Man  of  the  North,  and  Man  of 
the  South.  Witkokaga  is  another  god,  who  deceives  animals 
into  being  taken.3  Canotedan  is  the  Dacotah  god  of  the 
forest,  and  lives  in  a  tree.  When  he  wants  anything,  he  can 
be  found  sitting  on  a  branch.  He  has  powers  of  attraction, 
and  draws  around  him  all  the  birds  of  the  forest.  He  wages 
constant  war  with  the  gods  of  the  elements,  and  kills  one  occa 
sionally, — which  does  not  exterminate 

FIG.  3. 
them,  however.     The  Dacotahs  have  a 

god  of  the  grass,  who  can  make  them 
crazy,  and  a  god  of  war.  All  of  these 
spiritual  beings  were  anthropomorphic. 

Fig.  3  is  a  rough  representation  of 
the  god  of  war.4 

The  Great  Spirit  is  borrowed  from 
the  whites,  to  complete  their  pantheon. 
The  Dacotahs  have  giants  who  stride 
over  the  largest  rivers  and  the  tallest 
trees  with  ease. 

Among  the  Iroquois  the  stonish  giants  figure  in  their  folk- 


1  2  Schoolcraft,  225.  =  I  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  268. 

3  Eastman,  xxxi.  *•  3  Schoolcraft,  485-87. 


86  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

lore,  and  undoubtedly  represent  an  invading  tribe  whose  valor 
tested  the  Iroquois  to  the  utmost.  Plate  II.  is  a  representation 
of  one  of  their  culture-heroes,  whose  name  was  Atotarho.  He 
was  an  early  ruler,  whose  hair  was  represented  in  snake  forms, 
as  was  that  of  Medusa.  Many  of  the  characters  in  the  Iroquois 
pantheon  have  assumed  the  human  form,  or,  in  other  words,  are 
ancestral.  Hiawatha  is  one  of  the  most  prominent.  He  taught 
the  Six  Nations  arts  and  knowledge.  He  taught  them  to  raise 
corn  and  beans.  His  wisdom  was  great,  and  the  people  listened 
to  him  with  admiration.  There  was  nothing  in  which  he  did 
not  excel.  He  was  a  good  hunter,  brave  warrior,  and  eloquent 
orator.  He  selected  a  beautiful  spot  on  the  southern  shore  of 
Cross  Lake.  He  erected  his  lodge,  planted  his  field  of  corn, 
and  selected  a  wife.  Here  he  was  resorted  to  for  advice  and 
instruction.  Soon  there  arose  a  great  alarm  at  the  invasion  of 
a  ferocious  band  of  warriors  from  the  north.  The  public  fear 
was  extreme.  A  great  council  of  all  the  tribes  was  appointed 
to  meet  on  an  eminence  overlooking  Onondaga  Lake.  Three 
days  had  elapsed,  and  there  was  a  general  anxiety  lest  Hia 
watha  should  not  arrive.  Messengers  were  despatched  for  him. 
They  found  him  in  a  pensive  mood,  and  he  communicated  to 
them  his  strong  presentiments  that  evil  betided  his  attendants 
at  the  council.  The  messengers  urged  him  to  come,  and  he 
put  his  magic  canoe  in  the  water,  and  it  moved  without  paddles. 
His  only  daughter  took  her  seat  in  the  stern.  Soon  they  en 
tered  on  the  bright  bosom  of  the  Onondaga.  The  great  coun 
cil  saw  the  well-known  canoe  approaching,  and  sent  up  shouts 
of  welcome  as  the  venerated  man  landed  in  front  of  the  assem 
blage.  As  he  and  his  daughter  ascended  the  banks,  a  loud 
sound  was  heard  in  the  air,  and  a  dark  spot  was  discovered  de 
scending  rapidly.  Terror  seized  the  Indians,  and  they  scattered 
in  confusion  to  escape  the  impending  calamity.  Hiawatha's 
daughter  was  the  doomed  object.  A  white  bird  with  a  mighty 
swoop  crushed  the  girl  to  the  earth,  and  not  a  human  trace  of 
her  could  be  discovered.  Not  a  muscle  moved  in  the  face  of 
Hiawatha.  He  passed  on  to  the  head  of  the  council.  His 


PLATE  II. 


ATOTARHO. 

(ANCIENT  IROQUOIS  CHIEF.) 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  87 

advice  was  given  and  adopted,  and  Hiawatha's  mission  was 
accomplished.  He  went  down  to  the  shore,  and  assumed  his 
seat  in  his  mystical  vessel.  Sweet  music  was  heard  in  the  air, 
and,  as  its  cadence  floated  on  the  ears  of  the  wondering  multi 
tude,  an  apotheosis  was  taking  place.  Hiawatha  in  his  magic 
canoe  rose  in  the  air  higher  and  higher,  and  vanished  from  sight.1 

Thus  was  this  great  and  good  man  translated,  according  to 
the  traditions  of  his  people.  The  sun-worship  of  the  Iroquois 
is  ancestral  in  its  character,  as  they  believe  the  sun  to  be  a 
man,  but  their  legend  has  not  come  down  to  us  relating  the 
earthly  career  of  this  solar  man,  as  in  many  other  tribes, 
losco,  another  mythical  hero,  confirmed  their  ideas  of  this 
luminary  by  visiting  him  and  taking  a  day's  journey  with  him 
around  the  world.2 

Jouskeha  was  the  Iroquois  mythical  character  who  figured  as 
the  creator  of  the  world  and  the  father  of  the  human  race.3 

Areskoui  was  another  of  their  deities  to  whom  sacrifices  were 
offered.  Father  Jogues  saw  a  female  prisoner  burned  as  a  sac 
rifice  to  Areskoui.4  The  god  of  thunder  was  supposed  to  be 
a  giant  in  human  form.5  Two  gods  of  the  Iroquois  appeared 
among  the  Natches ;  for  their  goddess  Athaensic  was  the  fe 
male  chief  of  evil  spirits,  and  Jouskeha  of  good  spirits,  in  both 
tribes.6  They  were  the  reputed  ancestors. 

Among  the  New  England  tribes  a  god  called  Squanto,  to 
whom  they  ascribed  all  good,  and  another  god,  Tanto,  to  whom 
they  ascribed  all  evil,  were  worshipped.  Tanto  produced  death 
and  carried  the  dead  to  his  wigwam.7  They  were  ancestral. 
Pampagussit  was  the  name  of  the  sea-god  of  the  New  England 
Indians.8  He  was  represented  with  human  form.  Yotaawit 
was  god  of  fire,  Nanepaushat  was  god  of  the  moon,  and  Kee- 
suckquand  god  of  the  sun.  "  They  had  their  he  and  she  saints, 
even  as  the  papists,"  says  Roger  Williams.9  Another  of  their 


1  3  Schoolcraft,  315-17.  2  5  ib.,  402.  3  Parkman's  Jesuits,  Ixxvii. 

4  Ib.,  Ixxvii.  5  Ib.,  Ixix. 

6  2  Chateaubriand,  40.  ^  2  Maine  Hist.  Coll.,  94. 

8  Williams's  Key,  98.  9  Ib.,  no. 


88  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

gods  was  named  Moshup,  who  lived  at  Martha's  Vineyard  with 
his  wife  and  five  children.  He  used  to  catch  whales,  and  pluck 
up  large  trees  to  roast  them  with.  He  once  sent  his  children 
to  play  ball  on  the  beach  that  joined  Neman's  Land  to  Gay 
Head.  He  then  cut  with  his  toe  a  line  in  which  the  water 
followed  and  cut  them  off.  His  wife  mourned  them  so  much 
that  he  threw  her  away  in  a  fit  of  rage.  She  fell  upon  Seconet, 
near  the  rocks,  where  she  lived  some  time,  exacting  contribu 
tion  of  all  who  passed  there  by  water.  After  a  while  she  was 
changed  into  a  stone :  the  shape  of  this  stone  remained  until 
the  English  broke  it  up  for  relics.1 

Wakon  is  the  principal  god  and  ancestor  of  the  Osages.2 

The  Indians  on  the  Columbia  River  believe  that  men  were 
created  by  a  deity  named  Etalapass,  but  when  made  they  were 
imperfect,  having  a  mouth  that  was  not  opened,  eyes  that  were 
fast  closed,  hands  and  feet  that  were  not  movable.  A  second 
divinity,  whom  they  call  Ecanumu,  having  seen  men  in  this 
state  of  imperfection,  took  a  sharp  stone  and  laid  open  their 
mouths  and  eyes  ;  he  gave  agility  also  to  their  feet,  and  motion 
to  their  hands.3 

Kareya,  the  ancestor  of  the  Karoks  of  California,  was  the 
creator  of  their  world.  They  have  the  stool  upon  which  he 
sat  when  upon  the  earth.  Since  the  advent  of  Christianity  he 
has  been  elevated  to  the  divine  primacy  of  Supreme  Being. 

Card  is  the  name  of  the  culture-hero  of  the  Yuroks.  He 
gave  them  their  language,  and  now  lives  in  their  mountains. 
He  has  recently  been  elevated  to  the  dignity  of  Supreme 
Being,  as  no  other  is  so  well  adapted  to  represent  the  Christian 
God  to  their  minds.4 

He  was  also  ancestral  god  of  the  Hupas.  Many  of  the  in 
cidents  of  his  life  are  remembered  by  them.  "  Clean  was  his 
heart,"  say  they.  He  was  translated,  according  to  their 
myths,  in  a  thick  cloud  of  smoke,  which  floated  to  the  land  of 


1  I  Mass.  Hist.  Coll.,  1st  Series,  139.  a  I  Rafinesque,  160. 

3  Franchere's  Voy.,  258.  *  3  Ethnol.  of  Powell's  Exp.,  64. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  89 

spirits.1  This  is  undoubtedly  a  myth  connected  with  his  cre 
mation. 

The  creator  of  the  Maidus  was  a  man  from  whom  they 
descended.2 

Quahootze  is  the  principal  god  of  the  Nootkans.  He  stills 
the  tempests  and  controls  the  storm.  They  chant  and  pray 
to  him.  A  human  victim  was  formerly  offered  at  his  annual 
festival,  but  now  a  boy  with  knives  stuck  through  his  flesh 
appears  as  a  substitute.  Matlose  is  a  famous  hobgoblin  of 
the  Nootkans.  He  is  a  very  Caliban  of  spirits  :  his  head  is  like 
the  head  of  something  that  might  have  been  a  man,  but  is  not. 
His  monstrous  teeth  and  nails  are  like  the  fangs  and  claws  of 
a  bear.  Whoever  hears  his  terrible  voice  falls  like  one  smitten, 
and  his  curved  claws  rend  prey  into  morsels  with  a  single 
stroke.3  Huge  images,  carved  in  wood,  stand  in  their  houses, 
intended  to  represent  the  form  and  hold  in  remembrance  the 
visit  of  a  god  in  the  guise  of  an  old  man  who  came  up  the 
sound  long  ago  in  a  copper  canoe  and  instructed  them  in 
many  things.4  The  Nawloks  are  fabulous  beings,  part  human, 
with  whom  their  sorcerers  are  supposed  to  commune  and  ob 
tain  their  prophecies.5 

Yehl  stands  at  the  head  of  the  Thlinkeet  pantheon.  He  is 
kind,  and  loves  men ;  not  so  with  Khanuk,  who  could  raise  a 
magic  darkness  that  would  frighten  Yehl  into  helplessness. 
Yehl  cannot  die  or  become  older.  Chett  is  a  great  Northern 
rukh,  that  snatches  up  and  swallows  a  whale  without  difficulty. 
The  flash  of  his  eyes  produces  the  lightning.6 

The  anthropomorphic  nature  of  these  gods  is  beyond  ques 
tion.  Yehl  and  Khanuk  lived  formerly  on  the  earth,  and  were 
born  of  a  woman  whose  race  has  passed  away.  Khanuk  was 
god  of  war  and  the  patron  of  every  fearless  brave.*  He  sends 
epidemics  and  bloodshed  to  all  who  displease  him,  while  Yehl 
crosses  the  purposes  of  his  dark-minded  brother.  Yehl  had 


1  3  Ethnol.  of  Powell's  Exp.,  81.  *  3  ib.,  287.          3  3  Bancroft,  151. 

«3ib.,  151.  s  3  ib.,  150.         63ib.,  146. 


go  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

great  skill  in  the  use  of  the  bow  and  arrow.  They  have  a 
traditionary  incarnation  of  Yehl  in  one  of  their  mighty  hunters. 
A  disconsolate  mother  went  to  the  sea-shore  to  weep  for  her 
lost  children,  and  while  there  a  dolphin  pitied  her  and  told  her 
to  swallow  a  small  pebble  and  drink  some  sea-water,  which  she 
did,  and  in  proper  time  Yehl  was  born.  His  first  famous  ex 
ploit  was  to  shoot  a  crane,  called,  when  translated,  "  crane  that 
can  soar  to  heaven."  In  the  skin  of  this  bird  he  clothed  him 
self  whenever  he  wished  to  fly.  Yehl's  contests  with  his  uncle 
for  revenge  made  much  of  their  folk-lore.  Yehl  had  other  in 
carnations,  in  one  of  the  most  romantic  of  which  he  was  trans 
formed  into  a  blade  of  grass  and  got  into  a  girl's  drinking-cup 
and  was  swallowed  by  her  and  born  again.  The  balance  of 
his  life  was  spent  in  stealing  benefits  for  mankind,  and  in  his 
adventures,  metamorphosing  himself  at  pleasure.  His  black 
plumage  was  obtained  in  an  adventure  where  he  attempted  to 
escape  through  the  chimney  of  a  hut.1  He  had  the  fogs  and 
clouds  at  his  command,  and  would  draw  them  around  him  to 
escape  his  enemies.2 

The  Okanagans  have  a  god  Skyappe,  and  also  one  called 
Chacha,  who  appear  to  be  endowed  with  omniscience  ;  but  their 
principal  divinity  is  their  great  mythical  ruler  and  heroine 
Scomalt.  Long  ago,  when  the  sun  was  no  bigger  than  a  star, 
this  strong  medicine-woman  ruled  over  what  appears  to  have 
now  become  a  lost  island.  At  last  the  peace  of  the  island  was 
destroyed  by  war,  and  the  noise  of  battle  was  heard,  with  which 
Scomalt  was  exceeding  wroth;  whereupon  she  rose  up  in  her 
might,  and  drove  her  rebellious  subjects  to  one  end  of  the 
island,  and  broke  off  the  piece  of  land  on  which  they  were 
huddled,  and  pushed  it  out  to  sea,  to  drift  whither  it  would. 
This  floating  island  was  tossed  to  and  fro  and  buffeted  by  the 
winds  till  all  but  two  died.  A  man  and  woman  escaped  in  a 
canoe  and  arrived  on  the  mainland,  and  from  these  the  Okana 
gans  are  descended.3 

1  3  Bancroft,  100-3.  a  3  tt>.,  149.  3  3  ib.,  154. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  91 

The  Acagchemen  races  of  California  appear  to  reverence  an 
ancestor  by  the  name  of  Ouiot,  who  was  a  great  warrior  and 
ruler  of  the  early  day.  He  grew  old,  however,  and  useless, 
and,  as  was  their  custom,  they  poisoned  him,  and  he  died,  and 
was  succeeded  by  a  greater,  named  Ouiamot,  who  came  dancing 
among  them  when  assembled  for  some  purpose,  and  entered 
into  league  with  their  medicine-men  and  confirmed  their  power. 
He  then  returned  to  the  stars  whence  he  came.1 

The  Pericues  of  Lower  California  were  divided  into  two 
sects,  worshipping  two  hostile  divinities  who  waged  a  war  of 
extermination  on  each  other,  and  who  were  historical  characters. 

Niparaya  was  the  name  of  one,  whose  wife,  though  possess 
ing  no  body,  bore  him,  in  a  divinely  mysterious  manner,  three 
children.  This  young  god  made  men  by  drawing  them  up 
out  of  the  earth.  He  died,  and  an  owl  appears  to  represent 
him.  Another  god  was  Tuparan,  whom  Niparaya  appears  to 
have  defeated  in  battle  and  confined  under  the  earth.  This  was 
another  way,  undoubtedly,  of  expressing  his  death  and  burial. 
His  followers  continue  to  be  his  sectaries.2 

The  tribes  in  the  neighborhood  of  Trinity  River  had  their 
great  ancestor  Wappequemow,  who  was  a  giant  who  quarrelled 
with  a  great  god  at  the  mouth  of  the  Klamath  and  was  ban 
ished  thence.  Next  in  their  pantheon  comes  the  great  Omaha, 
who  is  invisible  and  brings  misfortune  on  mankind.  Next  is 
Makelay,  a  veritable  fiend,  as  swift  as  the  wind,  moving  in 
great  leaps  as  the  kangaroo  moves.  The  sight  of  him  is  death 
to  mortals.3  They  were  represented  in  human  forms. 

The  most  curious  mythological  characters  among  the  natives 
of  Northern  California  are  those  mysterious  people  called  the 
Hohgates,  who  have  left  an  immense  bed  of  mussel-shells  near 
the  Crescent  City.  These  Hohgates,  seven  in  number,  were 
famous  hunters  of  seals.  One  day,  being  out  at  sea  in  their 
boat,  they  struck  a  huge  sea-lion  with  their  harpoon,  and,  stand 
ing  by  their  line,  were  dragged  with  fearful  speed  toward  a  great 

1  3  Bancroft,  166.  2  3  ib.,  169.  3  3.ib.,  176. 


92  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

whirlpool  that  lay  to  the  northwest,  where  spirits  shiver  in  its 
dark  cold,  and  even  the  living  suffer  from  its  winds.  Just  as 
the  boat  reached  the  dreadful  current,  the  rope  broke,  and  the 
sea-monster  was  swept  alone  in  the  'whirl,  while  the  Hohgates 
were  caught  up  into  the  air,  their  boat  floating  steadily  to 
ward  the  empyrean  until  the  translated  heroes  landed  where 
the  Seven  Stars  now  shine.1 

The  inhabitants  on  the  Rio  Grande  adored  three  ancestral 
gods,  called  Cocopo,  Cacina,  and  Homace,  to  the  first  of  whom  a 
temple  was  raised  some  ten  feet  wide  and  twice  as  deep.  At 
the  end  sat  the  idol  of  stone  or  clay,  representing  the  god 
bearing  some  eggs  in  one  hand  and  some  ears  of  maize  in  the 
other.  In  this  temple  an  old  woman  presided  as  priestess,  and 
directed  the  ceremonies  by  which  the  natives  implored  rain, 
— a  blessing  the  more  necessary  as  the  streams  frequently  ran 
dry.2 

The  Araucanian  pantheon  is  composed  of  Pillan,  Epunamun, 
Mulen,  and  Guecubu.  Pillan  signifies  the  spirit,  and  it  appears 
that  he  had  acquired  a  great  pre-eminence  over  all  others.  His 
anthropomorphic  character  is  written  plainly  in  his  polity,  which 
is  a  prototype  of  the  Araucanian.  Undoubtedly  he  was  an 
early  ruler  and  the  founder  of  their  government,  and  when  he 
disappeared  his  administration  of  affairs  in  the  spirit-world 
would  not  vary  from  the  earthly.  Epunamun  was  their  god  of 
war.  Mulen  was  their  beneficent  deity,  and  always  the  friend 
of  the  human  race.  He  is  the  antagonist  of  Guecubu,  who  is 
their  malevolent  deity  and  the  author  of  all  evil.  If  a  horse 
tires,  it  is  because  Guecubu  has  ridden  him.  Death  is  brought 
about  by  this  demon,  who  suffocates  them.  These  gods  have 
a  hierarchy  of  genii  or  active  spirits,3  and  were  historical  char 
acters. 

At  the  head  of  the  pantheon  of  the  Tupinambas  was  Tupa, 
which  is  their  word  for  father,  and  was  used  for  the  Supreme 


3  Bancroft,  177.  »  Shea's  Cath.  Missions,  79. 

3  2  Molina,  84-86. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  93 

Being  after  the  introduction  of  Christianity.  Although  he  was 
the  god  of  thunder,  still  his  character  was  that  of  a  beneficent 
being.1  Next  stood  Zome,  who  taught  them  the  use  of  the 
mandioc.  The  woods  made  a  path  for  Zome  in  his  progress, 
and  the  rivers  opened  to  give  him  passage.  He  could  also 
walk  upon  the  waters.  He  commanded  the  tempests.  The 
most  ferocious  animals  crouched  submissive  at  his  feet2  They 
pointed  out  his  footsteps  imprinted  on  the  shore. 

The  Manacicas  had  a  triplet  of  deities,  called  Urapo,  Ura- 
sana,  and  Uragozoriso,  two  of  them  good  and  one  bad,  and  a 
host  of  spiritual  attendants,  including  the  souls  of  their  ene 
mies.  They  would  come  with  a  noise  through  the  air  and 
enter  the  hut  prepared  for  them,  which  shook  at  their  pres 
ence.  This  rude  temple  had  a  holy  of  holies,  into  which  none 
but  priests  were  allowed  to  enter.  When  the  oracles  were 
pronounced,  these  spirits  returned  to  the  air  whence  they  came. 
They  had  a  goddess  Quipoci,  who  appears  to  have  been  a 
sweet  singer  of  early  times.3 

The  Yuracares  of  Brazil  had  a  divine  hero,  Tiri,  who  was 
suckled  by  a  jaguar.4 

Among  the  Tamanacas  of  Guiana  a  hero-god,  Amalavaca, 
piled  rocks  upon  each  other  until  a  famous  cavern,  which  was 
called  his  house,  was  formed.  He  was  no  other  than  their 
primitive  ancestor.  He,  with  his  brother  Pochi,  another  myth 
ical  hero  of  this  people,  gave  the  surface  of  the  earth  its 
present  form.  The  pictographs  on  the  rocks  are  his  hand 
writing.5 

Among  all  of  the  culture-heroes  of  the  civilized  races  of 
America,  Quetzalcoatl  is  the  pre-eminent  one.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  he  was  a  historic  character.  Descriptions  of 
his  personal  appearance  are  found  in  the  historic  fragments  of 
those  peoples  among  whom  he  lived.  Quetzalcoatl  came  to 
Tulla.  He  had  a  broad  forehead,  large  eyes,  and  flowing 

1  i  Southey,  227.  2  Warden's  Researches,  189. 

3  3  Southey,  184.  4  i  Tylor,  282. 

s  2  Humboldt's  Personal  Narrative,  471,  seq. 
7 


94  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

beard,  and  was  clad  in  a  white  robe.  He  held  a  sickle  in  his 
hand.  His  habits  were  ascetic.  He  was  never  married,  yet 
was  chaste  and  pure  in  his  life.  He  condemned  sacrifices, 
except  of  fruits  and  flowers.  When  addressed  on  the  subject 
of  war,  he  stopped  his  ears  with  his  fingers.  He  loved  peace. 
He  instructed  people  in  agriculture,  metallurgy,  and  the  arts 
of  government.  He  was  one  of  those  benefactors  of  their 
species  who  have  been  deified  by  the  gratitude  of  posterity. 
His  age  was  the  golden  age  of  Anahuac;  a  veritable  mythical 
age,  too,  for  under  him  the  earth  teemed  with  fruits  and 
flowers  without  the  labor  of  culture.  An  ear  of  Indian  corn 
was  as  much  as  a  single  man  could  carry.  The  cotton  as  it 
grew  took  the  rich  dyes  of  human  art.  Stalks  of  the  amaranth 
were  so  large  people  climbed  them  like  trees.  Such  a  man  as 
this  in  the  semi-civilized  state  of  Tulla  is  a  marvel.  His  char 
acter  was  more  exemplary  than  any  other  human  being  of 
whom  we  have  any  account  in  America.  He  was  like  a  meteor 
that  flashes  across  a  dark  sky  and  is  gone.  Tezcatlipoca,  whose 
worship  was  quite  opposite  in  its  character  to  that  of  Quetzal- 
coatl,  triumphed,  however,  with  his  sanguinary  ritual,  which 
was  celebrated  with  human  sacrifices.  A  struggle  ensued  in 
Tulla  between  the  opposing  systems,  which  resulted  favorably 
to  the  bloody  deity,  and  the  faction  who  sought  to  establish 
his  worship  in  preference  to  the  peaceful  and  ascetic  service 
of  Quetzalcoatl  triumphed.  But  Quetzalcoatl  was  allowed  to 
depart  in  peace.  Myriads  of  rich-plumed  songsters  made  the 
air  melodious  as  they  accompanied  him  on  his  journey.  The 
flowers  by  the  wayside  gave  forth  unusual  volumes  of  perfume 
at  his  approach.  A  few  devoted  followers  clung  to  him  in  his 
travels.  He  next  appeared  at  Cholula.  War  was  not  known 
during  his  sojourn  there.  The  enemies  of  the  Cholulans  came 
with  perfect  safety  to  his  temple,  which  is  one  of  the  most 
interesting  relics  of  antiquity,  and  the  sculptor  and  architect 
flourished  under  the  patronage  of  the  great  god  king.  After 
twenty  years  he  passed  down  to  the  sea,  and,  entering  his 
wizard  skiff,  made  of  serpent-skins,  embarked,  after  bestowing 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  95 

his  blessing  upon  four  young  men  who  had  followed  him 
thither  in  their  devotion.1 

Most  prominent  among  the  peculiar  reforms  of  Quetzalcoatl, 
and  the  one  that  is  reported  to  have  contributed  most  to  his 
downfall,  was  his  unvarying  opposition  to  human  sacrifice. 
This  sacrifice  had  prevailed  from  pre-Toltec  times  at  Teotihua- 
can,  and  had  been  adopted  more  or  less  extensively  in  Culhua- 
can  and  Tulla.  By  Quetzalcoatl  it  was  absolutely  prohibited 
in  the  temples  of  the  latter  capital,  and  thus  the  powerful  priest 
hood  of  Otompan  and  Culhuacan  was  arrayed  against  him. 
Again,  it  is  thought  that  under  Quetzalcoatl  the  spiritual  power 
became  so  dominant  as  to  excite  the  jealousy  and  fears  of  the 
nobility  in  Tulla,  who  were  restless  under  priestly  restraint.2 

Tezcatlipoca,  the  persecutor  of  the  great  priest  of  Tulla,  be 
came  the  greatest  god  adored  in  these  countries.  Creator  of 
heaven  and  earth,  recompenser  of  the  just  and  the  unjust,  his 
name  means  shining  mirror.  According  to  tradition,  he  de 
scended  from  heaven  by  a  rope  made  of  spiders'  webs.  Stone 
seats  were  placed  in  the  corner  of  the  streets  for  him  to  rest 
upon,  which  no  other  person  was  ever  allowed  to  use.  Of 
course  this  adulatory  worship  is  due  to  his  success  in  attaining 
the  primacy.  His  true  character  is  shown  as  the  sorcerer. 
His  triumph  is  that  of  sorcery  and  semi-barbarous  religion 
over  an  attempted  reformation.  The  tradition  of  the  visit  of 
Tezcatlipoca  to  the  sick  Quetzalcoatl  gives  us  a  vivid  insight 
into  the  nature  of  the  struggle  of  the  contending  forces.  The 
account  is  as  follows.  There  came  at  last  a  time  in  which  the 
fortunes  of  Quetzalcoatl  and  his  people  the  Toltecs  began  to 
fail,  for  there  came  against  them  three  sorcerers  who  were  gods 
in  disguise, — Tezcatlipoca,  Huitzilopochtli,  and  Tlacapevan. 
Tezcatlipoca  turned  himself  into  a  hoary-headed  old  man  and 
went  to  the  house  of  Quetzalcoatl  when  sick,  and  demanded 
to  see  the  sick  man.  He  gave  him  a  draught,  which  worked 
its  spell  to  induce  Quetzalcoatl  to  leave  his  pontifical  throne 

1  Short,  269-71 ;   I  Prescott,  58-60.  2  5  Bancroft,  261. 


96  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

and  palace  and  become  a  wanderer.  In  Cholula  he  found  a 
resting-place  for  twenty  years,  and  yet  after  that  lapse  of  time 
the  magic  spell  was  still  upon  him,  and  again  he  left  his  work 
of  civilizing  to  flee  from  the  dread  sorcerer's  charm. 

Tezcatlipoca,  though  a  magician  and  of  the  religious  order, 
allied  himself  to  the  civil  power  in  the  following  manner.  He 
disguised  himself,  and,  while  selling  green  peppers  in  the 
market-place  of  Tulla,  the  only  daughter  of  the  temporal  lord 
of  the  Toltecs  saw  him  by  chance  from  the  palace-windows, 
and  was  smitten  with  love  for  the  disguised  god.  She  sickened 
and  languished  with  love  for  the  handsome  pepper-vender.  He 
was  brought  into  the  palace,  went  in  to  the  princess  and  remained 
with  her,  and  she  became  well.  Innumerable  acts  of  sorcery 
did  he  now  perform,  many  of  them  in  punishment  of  the  Tol 
tecs  for  their  hostility  to  him.  He  at  last  won  his  way  to  the 
control  of  the  civil  and  religious  affairs,  and  the  Mexicans  were 
subdued  into  submission  to  the  most  bloody  religious  worship 
ever  established  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  In  the  midst  of  their 
progress  in  the  arts  of  civilized^  life,  a  cessation  of  progress  in 
religious  life  took  place.  The  retreating  figure  of  Quetzalcoatl 
would  have  shuddered  to  look  back  and  see  the  dark  pall  that 
the  great  sorcerer  was  hanging  around  his  redeemed  land. 
Although  so  many  supernatural  acts  are  ascribed  to  Tezcatli 
poca,  yet  he  was  undoubtedly  a  culture-hero  and  the  founder 
of  Tezcuco.  His  father  was  king  of  Tulla  probably  about  752 
A.D.,  and  it  was  undoubtedly  after  his  death  that  Tezcatlipoca 
strove  for  the  supremacy  at  Tulla,  appearing  there  with  many 
metamorphoses.  Quetzalcoatl,  according  to  that  eminent  an 
thropologist,  Mr.  Waitz,  was  originally  a  man,  a  priest  in  Tulla, 
who  arose  as  a  religious  reformer  among  the  Toltecs,  but  was 
expelled  by  the  adherents  of  Tezcatlipoca,  who  had  been, 
according  to  Francis  of  Bologna,  a  great  prince.  They  made 
an  image  of  him  and  worshipped  it. 

Apotheosis  of  monarchs  among  the  Mexicans  was  a  natural 
consequence  of  their  earthly  autocracy.  From  the  moment 
of  his  coronation  the  Aztec  sovereign  lived  in  an  atmosphere 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  97 

of  adulation  unknown  to  the  mightiest  potentate  of  the  Old 
World.  Reverenced  as  a  god,  the  haughtiest  nobles — sov 
ereigns  in  their  own  provinces — humbled  themselves  before 
him.  Absolute  in  power,  the  fate  of  thousands  depended  upon 
a  gesture.1 

In  his  coronation  oath  he  promised  to  make  the  sun  shine, 
the  clouds  give  rain,  the  rivers  flow,  and  the  earth  bring  forth 
fruit  in  abundance.2 

We  will  next  notice  the  goddess  Citlalicue,  to  whom  women 
prayed.  She  had  many  children  in  the  upper  world,  but  finally 
brought  forth  a  flint  knife  which  was  thrown  to  the  earth,  and 
from  it  sprang  sixteen  hundred  heroes.  Xolotl,  who  was  one 
of  these  heroes,  went  to  the  regions  of  Mictlanteuctli,  the 
Mexican  Pluto,  and  got  a  bone  of  a  dead  man,  that  he  might 
create  a  new  race  of  men  in  place  of  those  destroyed  in  one  of 
their  traditionary  destructions.  The  god  of  the  dead  pur 
sued  him  when  he  discovered  the  theft.  Xolotl  stumbled  in 
his  flight  and  broke  the  bone,  but  escaped  with  it.  When 
sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  the  heroes,  the  bone  became  a 
male  and  female.3 

This  Promethean  legend  of  the  Mexicans  is  repeated  with 
different  incidents  throughout  American  mythology. 

Centeotl,  goddess  of  corn,  had  five  temples  in  Mexico.  Next 
to  Quetzalcoatl,  this  goddess  was  the  most  beneficent  in  the 
Mexican  pantheon.  She  elicited  the  love  of  her  worshippers. 
There  were  no  human  sacrifices  to  her,  but  she  was  contented 
with  the  sacrifice  of  doves,  quails,  and  leverets,  which  they 
offered  in  great  numbers.  They  looked  to  her  for  deliverance 
from  the  cruel  slavery  they  were  under  to  the  other  gods. 
Mictlanteuctli,  god  of  the  under-world,  was  supposed  to  dwell 
in  a  place  of  great  darkness,  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  Sac 
rifices  were  always  made  to  him  at  night,  and  his  priests  were 
painted  a  black  color.  Both  Centeotl  and  Mictlanteuctli  were 
represented  in  human  form. 

1  2  Bancroft,  143-44.  2  2  ib.,  146.  3  i  Qavigero,  245-46. 


98  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Mixcoatl,  goddess  of  hunting,  was  the  principal  deity  of  the 
Otomies,  who  were  a  tribe  of  hunters.  She  had  two  temples, 
however,  in  Mexico,  where  wild  animals  were  sacrificed  to  her. 
She  was  the  Diana  of  the  Mexican  pantheon,  and  represented 
a  hunter  condition.  There  appears  to  have  been  another  deity 
bearing  this  name, — and  a  male.  He  seems  to  have  been  god 
of  thunder.  He  was  represented  with  a  bundle  of  arrows  in 
his  hand.  He  was  the  principal  deity  of  the  ancient  Chiche- 
mecs,  but  held  in  high  honor  by  the  Nahuas,  Nicaraguans, 
and  Otomies.  He  rode  upon  the  tropical  tornado,  and  was 
lord  of  the  lightning.  .He  is  probably  identical  with  Ca- 
maxtli.  It  is  not  uncommon,  where  adoption  of  tribal  gods 
takes  place,  to  change  their  profession  without  changing  their 
name.  Thus,  the  god  of  hunting,  of  a  tribe  of  hunters,  if  estab 
lished  in  the  pantheon  of  a  tribe  whose  pursuits  are  not  the 
chase,  will  be  assigned  to  other  duties,  and  the  whole  form  of 
worship  gradually  changed.  One  of  the  ceremonies  of  this 
god,  however,  observed  by  the  Mexicans,  was  a  great  hunt  in 
the  fourteenth  month,  when  the  celebrants  wended  their  way  to 
a  mountain-slope,  and  drove  deer,  rabbits,  hares,  coyotes,  and 
other  game  together  and  began  their  slaughter  in  honor  of 
this  hunting  god.  A  portion  of  the  game  was  sacrificed  to  the 
god.  Later  in  the  month,  human  sacrifices  were  made  by  the 
Mexicans;  but  I  think  this  was  a  late  introduction  by  the  ad 
vocates  of  a  bloody  ritual,  and  after  sacrifice  had  reached  its 
greatest  height  of  enormity.  Another  fact  has  some  bearing 
upon  this  subject.  The  sacrifices  of  this  hunting  god  appear 
to  have  been  synchronous  with  those  of  the  gods  Tlamatzincatl 
and  Yzquitecatl,  and  their  ceremonies  conducted  together;  and, 
since  human  sacrifices  were  offered  to  these  two  deities,  they 
would  eventually  be  introduced  into  the  worship  of  the  hunting 
god. 

Opochtli  was  god  of  fishing.  He  was  believed  to  be  the 
inventor  of  nets  and  other  instruments  of  fishing.  His  image 
was  like  a  man.  The  sacrifices  to  him  were  pulque,  smoking- 
canes,  and  other  vegetable  substances.  No  human  sacrifices 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  99 

are  mentioned,  and  therefore  no  departure  from  the  primitive 
worship.1 

Texcatzoncatl  was  god  of  wine.  This  Aztec  Dionysus  had 
companion  deities,  who  as  a  class  bore  the  remarkable  name  of 
"  the  four  hundred  rabbits."  This,  taken  in  connection  with 
the  fact  that  four  hundred  priests  officiated  in  the  temple  of  this 
god,  would  point  to  a  time  when  a  family  bearing  the  totemic 
name  of  the  rabbit  had  consecrated  themselves  to  the  worship 
of  an  ancestor,  and  had  gradually  grown  into  a  priestly  caste, 
maintaining  the  worship  of  their  god  among  many  other 
rival  deities.  Upon  the  head  of  the  image  of  this  god  was  a 
vessel  for  the  reception  of  wine,  which  was  ceremoniously 
poured  into  it.2 

Ixtlilton  was  a  god  of  physic,  who  cured  sick  children.  He 
was  represented  by  a  living  man  decorated  with  certain  vest 
ments.  His  temple  was  a  temporary  structure  of  painted  boards, 
in  which  were  kept  many  jars  containing  a  fluid  like  black 
water,  which  was  given  the  sick  child  to  drink.  This  is  a  re 
markable  piece  of  imposture,  which  was  only  possible  among 
a  people  all  of  whose  religious  conceptions  of  a  deity  were 
colored  by  anthropomorphism.  Here  we  see  a  man  assume 
the  functions  of  a  deity,  with  a  priesthood  attached  to  his 
service,  whose  blessing  was  supposed  to  impart  curative  power 
to  a  useless  decoction.  The  same  god  appears  to  have  been 
used  for  the  detection  of  crime ;  for  when  a  feast  was  given  to 
him  by  a  private  person,  he  would  come  to  the  house  of  the 
feast-giver  with  music,  and  preceded  by  the  smoke  of  copal  in 
cense,  and  after  feasting  he  would  examine  a  jar  containing  the 
black  water  above  mentioned,  and  if  a  piece  of  straw,  or  a  hair, 
or  any  dirt  was  found  therein,  it  was  a  sign  that  the  giver  of 
the  feast  was  a  thief,  or  adulterer,  or  doer  of  some  kind  of  evil, 
and  he  was  confronted  with  the  charge  accordingly.3  This  god 
appears  to  be  a  personification  of  primitive  sorcery  surviving 
in  a  higher  civilization. 

1  I  Clavigero,  256;  3  Bancroft,  410.  2  3  Bancroft,  418. 

3  i  Clavigero,  257  ;  3  Bancroft,  409-10. 


100  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Tlazolteotl  was  the  goddess  of  sensual  pleasure.  The  Mexi 
cans  invoked  her  to  free  them  from  the  disgrace  following  the 
exposure  of  illicit  love.  Her  principal  devotees  were  lustful 
men  and  courtesans.  She  does  not,  however,  bear  the  wholly 
depraved  character  of  her  votaries,  for  the  Mexicans  never 
attributed  to  their  gods  those  shameful  irregularities  which  the 
Greeks  and  Romans  imputed  to  theirs.1  She  had  no  very 
prominent  place  in  the  minds  of  the  people.  Her  mythical 
home  was  in  a  pleasant  plain,  watered  by  innumerable  foun 
tains,  where  she  passed  her  time  in  the  midst  of  delights 
and  ministered  to  by  a  host  of  inferior  deities.  No  man  was 
able  to  approach  her,  but  she  had  in  her  service  a  crowd  of 
dwarfs,  buffoons,  and  hunchbacks,  who  diverted  her  with  their 
songs  and  dances  and  acted  as  messengers  to  such  gods  as 
she  fancied.  So  beautiful  was  she,  no  woman  in  the  world 
could  equal  her.  The  garden  of  her  palace  was  filled  with 
flowers,  the  touch  of  any  one  of  which  would  make  one  love 
to  the  end  and  love  faithfully.  She  would  not  allow  that  any 
man  could  resist  her  temptations.  Yappan,  the  Simeon  Sty- 
lites  of  the  New  World,  retired  to  a  great  stone  in  the  desert, 
and  there  dedicated  his  life  to  penitential  acts.  No  spot  could 
be  found  in  the  austere,  continent  life  of  the  anchorite,  and 
the  many  women  sent  by  the  gods  to  tempt  him  to  pleas 
ure  were  repulsed  and  baffled.  The  chaste  victories  of  the 
lonely  saint  were  applauded  in  the  upper  world,  and  he  was 
about  to  be  transformed  into  the  higher  life.  Then  it  was  that 
Tlazolteotl  felt  herself  slighted,  and,  wrathful,  contemptuous, 
rose  in  her  evil  beauty  and  descended  to  earth.  That  day  her 
singing  dwarfs  were  silent,  her  messengers  undisturbed  by  her 
behests,  and  away  into  the  desert  she  sped,  fairer  than  eye  can 
conceive,  and  advancing  toward  the  lean,  penance-withered 
man  on  his  sacred  height,  her  sweet  voice  sent  a  thrill  through 
his  mortified  flesh.  "  She  had  come  to  comfort  him,"  she  said, 
and  down  from  the  rock  he  came,  and  helped  the  goddess 

1  i  Clavigero,  257. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  101 

ascend,  and,  alas!  in  a  cloud  of  shame  the  chaste  light  of  Yap- 
pan  went  out  forever.  Tlazolteotl,  flushed  with  victory,  left  the 
poor  recluse  humbled  on  his  deserted  rock,  all  his  nights  and 
days  of  fasting  gone  for  naught.  He  was  transformed  into  a 
scorpion,  and  crawls  in  and  out  from  under  the  stone  on  which 
he  had  his  abode.1 

Xipe  was  the  god  of  the  goldsmiths.  Those  who  neglected 
his  worship  would  be  afflicted  with  sores  and  itch.  He  appears 
to  have  had  his  origin  in  Jalisco,  and  was  especially  honored 
on  the  sea-shore.  His  image  was  of  the  human  form.  Human 
sacrifices  disgraced  his  altars.  Those  who  stole  gold^r  jewels 
were  always  offered,  and  often  prisoners  of  war  were  sacrificed 
to  him.  The  hearts  of  the  victims  were  placed  in  the  mouth 
of  the  idol  with  a  golden  spoon.  Napatuctli  was  god  of  the 
mat-makers  and  workers  in  water-flags  and  rushes.  His  idol 
wore  a  black  and  white  skirt  adorned  with  little  sea-shells.  He 
was  a  beneficent  deity,  and  was  known  as  "  he  that  was  large 
and  liberal."  His  image  was  that  of  a  man.  He  had  two  tem 
ples  in  Mexico.2 

Omacate  was  the  god  of  mirth.  His  image,  which  was  that 
of  a  man,  was  brought  to,  and  presided  at,  the  banquets.  If  this 
was  neglected,  this  god  would  mix  hairs  with  the  food  of  the 
guests,  and  this  was  a  great  disgrace.3 

Mexitli,  often  called  Huitzilopochtli,  was  god  of  war  and  the 
principal  deity  of  the  city  of  Mexico.  He  was  immaculately 
conceived  by  a  woman  called  Coatlicue,  and  born  with  a  shield 
in  his  hand  and  a  crest  of  feathers  on  his  head.  Coatlicue  was 
a  very  pious  woman,  and  spent  much  of  her  time  in  the  temple. 
One  day  when  walking  in  the  temple  she  beheld  descending 
in  the  air  a  ball  made  of  feathers,  which  she  seized  and  kept  in 
her  bosom.  The  ball  disappeared,  and  Mexitli  was  the  result. 
Mexitli's  first  act  was  to  kill  his  brothers  and  sister,  who  had 
conspired  to  destroy  their  mother  on  account  of  her  supposed 

1  3  Bancroft,  377-79.  2  I  Clavigero,  257  ;  3  Bancroft,  417. 

3  I  Clavigero,  258 ;  3  Bancroft,  408. 


102  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

fall  from  virtue.  His  early  life  inspired  mankind  with  terror. 
He  became  the  leader  of  his  people,  conducted  them  for  many 
years  in  their  great  migration,  and  settled  them  finally  where 
the  great  city  of  Mexico  was  buUt.  He  was  the  founder  of 
that  city,  in  which  was  built  for  his  worship  the  superb  temple 
so  admired  by  the  Spaniards.1  Like  all  primitive  heroes,  he 
was  supposed  to  be  gifted  with  miraculous  power,  and  his  birth 
and  death  were  surrounded  with  mystery.  An  incarnation 
accounted  for  his  birth,  and  an  apotheosis  rewarded  his  life. 
Pinailton,  who  was  Mexitli's  war-lieutenant,  came  in  for  a 
share  of  'worship,  and  was  appealed  to  on  all  sudden  occasions 
when  the  delay  of  formality  kept  them  from  the  presence  of 
Mexitli.  Coatlicue,  his  mother,  was  goddess  of  flowers  and 
patron  saint  of  the  flower-dealers,  who  were  numerous  in  Mex 
ico.  She  had  a  festival  in  the  spring,  when  the  flower-dealers 
presented  her  with  beautiful  braids  of  flowers.2 

Toci  was  goddess  of  medicinal  herbs.  She  was  called  "  our 
ancestor,"  or  "  grandmother."  At  her  religious  ceremonies  she 
was  represented  by  a  woman,  who  was  then  sacrificed  to  her. 
This  representative  was  treated  with  all  the  reverence  due  a 
goddess.3 

The  goddess  Xilonen  seems  to  be  connected  with  agricul 
ture  and  the  vegetable  world,  as  well  as  Centeotl  and  Toci. 
She  is  represented  by  a  woman  who  was  to  be  offered  to  her 
in  sacrifice  during  her  religious  ceremonies.  A  peculiarity 
connected  with  the  human  sacrifice  in  the  case  of  these 
agricultural  gods  appears  to  be  the  flaying  of  the  victim, 
whose  skin  is  torn  off  and  worn  by  the  priests  for  a  time.  It 
would  appear  to  represent  the  tearing  off  of  the  husk  or  out 
side  covering  of  the  corn  and  other  vegetable  substances  used 
by  the  people. 

The  goddess  Chalchihuitlicue  had  power  over  the  waters  of 
the  sea  and  rivers,  to  drown  those  who  went  down  to  them. 
She  raised  tempests  and  caused  boats  to  founder.  In  her  left 

1  I  Clavigero,  254-55.  2  I  ib.,  257.  3  3  Bancroft,  356-58. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  103 

hand  she  held  the  leaf  of  the  white  water-lily;  in  her  right  a 
boat  in  the  shape  of  a  cross.  In  her  honor  were  celebrated  the 
ceremonies  of  the  lustration  of  children.  Two  of  these  bap 
tisms  were  practised  on  every  infant, — one  immediately  after 
birth,  when  prayer  was  offered  to  this  goddess  of  waters  to 
purge  the  infant  of  the  vices  inherited  from  its  father  and 
mother.  "All  spot  and  defilement  let  the  water  carry  away,"  said 
the  celebrant  of  this  ceremony,  who  then  immersed  the  child. 
The  second  baptism  took  place  about  five  days  thereafter,  at 
some  time  considered  propitious  by  the  diviner.  The  cere 
mony  in  its  formal  part  was  nearly  similar  to  the  first,  but  it 
had  more  of  a  spiritual  significance.  The  first  was  a  practical 
act,  where  washing  the  body  of  the  newly-born  babe  was  an 
essential  feature.  The  second  was  more  of  a  typical  cleansing 
of  the  spirit  and  a  dedication  to  the  goddess  of  water.  The 
last  baptism  was  not  an  immersion.  It  was  accompanied  with 
the  ceremony  of  naming  the  child. 

Tlaloc  was  the  god  of  rain  and  the  fertilizer  of  the  earth.  He 
resided  where  the  clouds  gather  on  the  highest  mountain-tops. 
He  had  many  attendant  deities  passing  under  the  same  name. 
He  had  only  one  eye.  They  prayed  and  sacrificed  to  him  for 
rain.  He  received  a  very  large  share  of  the  ceremonial  worship 
of  the  Mexicans.  Xinhtecutli  was  the  god  of  fire.  Upon  the 
back  of  the  image  of  this  god  was  a  dragon's  head.  This  form 
of  representation  of  the  gods  is  familiar  to  us  in  the  art  of 
Nicaragua  and  other  neighboring  regions.  Human  sacrifices 
and  an  elaborate  ceremonial  worship  were  given  this  god. 
Teoyaomique  was  a  goddess  who  collected  the  souls  of  those 
who  died  in  war.  She  was  represented  in  an  image  as  hold 
ing  her  head  in  her  hands,  while  two  snakes  issued  from  the 
neck  where  the  head  should  have  been.1  Jacateuctli  was  god 
of  merchants.  He  was  represented  as  a  man  walking  with  a 
staff.  The  Mexicans  also  had  a  god  of  the  tennis-court,  as 
Herrera  calls  it,  or  a  patron  deity  of  the  ball-play.  His  priest 

1  3  Bancroft,  400. 


104  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

blessed  the  ball-ground  before  the  game  began.     The  winner 
of  the  game  sacrificed  to  this  god.1 

In  Michoacan  the  goddess  Xaratanga  occupied  the  first  place 
in  the  affections  of  the  Terascos,  although  she  transformed 
their  princes  into  snakes  because  they  appeared  drunk  at  her 
festivals.  Her  name  is  associated  with  the  downfall  of  the 
native  dynasty.  She  was  evidently  a  historic  character.  She 
assumed  at  last  a  secondary  place,  because  Curicaneri  was  ex 
alted  over  her  by  the  Chichemec  rulers  of  the  country.  Mano- 
vapa,  the  son  of  Xaratanga,  was  worshipped,  as  was  also 
Teras,  from  whom  the  Terascos  took  their  name  and  were 
descended.  Surites,  a  high-priest  who  preached  morality  and 
was  considered  an  inspired  prophet,  also  had  a  share  of  their 
worship.2 

The  Chiapenec  pantheon  had  twenty  gods,  all  of  whom  were 
heroes,  ancestors,  or  first  rulers  of  the  people  inhabiting 
Chiapas.  Imox  appears  to  have  been  the  first  settler  of  this 
country,  and  was  worshipped.  Costahuntox  was  another  of 
their  gods,  who  is  represented  with  ram's  horns  on  his  head. 
Chi  max  was  a  great  military  leader,  and,  although  captured 
and  burned  by  enemies,  he  was  apotheosized.  Been  appears  to 
have  been  god  of  travellers.  Among  the  other  gods,  Igh,  Chanan, 
Yabalan,  Tox,  Moxic,  Lambat,  Molo,  Elab,  Evob,  Hix,  Chabin, 
Chic,  Cahoh,  and  Aghul  appear  to  have  had  little  related  of 
them,  but  were  human  beings  elevated  to  the  position  of  deities. 

Votan  is  a  mythical  character  who  appears  to  have  been  one 
of  the  earliest  culture-heroes  of  the  Mayas  of  Yucatan ;  but 
some  authorities  make  him  the  descendant  of  Imox.  He  de 
scribes  himself  in  his  book  on  the  origin  of  the  race  as  being 
a  snake.  Votan  founded  the  great  city  of  Palenque,  the 
metropolis  of  a  mighty  kingdom,  and  one  of  the  cradles  of 
American  civilization.  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  a  tribe  of 
natives  called  the  Snakes  was  found  near  Palenque  and  in  the 
neighborhood  where  Votan's  life  was  spent.  The  name  of 

1  2  Herrera,  341.  2  3  Bancroft,  445-46. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  105 

Snake,  which  he  has  given  himself,  was  undoubtedly  his 
totemic  or  family  name.  Votan  was  apotheosized.  Ah-Hulneb, 
named  the  chief  archer  on  account  of  his  exploits  before  death, 
received  after  death  divine  honors  in  the  island  of  Cozumel, 
whither  he  had  probably  carried  the  Maya  civilization.  After 
his  death  his  tomb  became  an  object  of  veneration,  and  a  temple 
was  built  on  his  royal  sepulchre.  The  island  was  named  after 
his  successor,  who  also  had  a  sumptuous  temple  there,  in 
which  he  was  represented  in  the  form  of  a  swallow.  Within 
the  temple  of  Ah-Hulneb  a  gigantic  terra-cotta  statue  of  him 
was  placed,  where  he  appeared  dressed  as  a  warrior  and  hold 
ing  an  arrow  in  his  hand.  This  statue  was  hollow,  and  placed 
close  to  the  wall,  so  that  a  priest  could  speak  through  it.  So 
famous  did  this  oracle  become,  and  so  great  was  the  multitude 
of  pilgrims  flocking  thither,  that  it  was  found  necessary  to 
construct  roads  to  it  from  all  the  chief  cities  of  Yucatan, 
Tabasco,  and  Guatemala.  Zacal-Bacab,  Caual-Bacab,  Chacal- 
Bacab,  and  Ekel-Bacab  were  gods  of  the  air,  and  were  an 
thropomorphic.1  The  deities  of  the  Mayas  of  Yucatan,  says 
Lizana,  were  their  good  kings,  whom  gratitude  or  fear  had 
made  them  place  among  the  gods.  Hunabku,  who  was  the 
father  of  Zamna,  their  great  culture-hero,  appears  to  stand  at 
the  head  of  the  Maya  pantheon  in  point  of  time,  and  his  spouse, 
Ixazalvoh,  who  was  the  inventor  of  weaving,  was  also  apo 
theosized.  The  principal  god  or  culture-hero  of  the  Mayas 
of  Yucatan  was  Zamna,  who  was  an  early  lawgiver  and  civil- 
izer.  He  invented  the  Maya  hieroglyphic  art.  He  was  founder 
of  the  royal  house.  He  died  at  an  advanced  age,  and  was  buried 
at  Izamal,  where  a  sacred  temple  was  erected  in  his  honor.  It 
was  a  favorite  shrine  for  Yucatec  pilgrims,  especially  those  who 
were  diseased.  Prayer  and  presents  offered  to  Zamna  were  sup 
posed  to  bring  cures.  He  was  said  to  have  raised  the  dead.2 

Of  all  the  apotheosized  heroes  of  Yucatan,  Kinich  Kakmo 
was  the  most  remarkable.     Son  of  the  sun,  he  dedicated  to 

1  3  Bancroft,  466.  2  5  ib.,  618 ;  3  ib.,  464. 


106  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

that  luminary  a  magnificent  temple  in  the  village  of  Izamal. 
He  became  personified  in  the  sun.1 

Pizlimtec,  an  ancient  priest,  was  deified  under  the  name  of 
Ahkin-Xooc.  Ahkin  means  magician.  He  undoubtedly  at 
tained  his  distinction  through  the  practice  of  sorcery.  He  was 
also  god  of  poetry  and  music.2 

Izona,  who  appears  [to  have  been  called  the  father  of  men, 
and  was  probably  an  early  historical  character,  was  an  object 
of  their  worship.  He  had  a  son  Bacab,  who  attained  divine 
honors.  He  was  divinely  begotten;  for,  according  to  the 
traditions,  he  was  born  of  a  virgin  Chibirias,  who  was  the 
daughter  of  Ixchel,  the  Yucatec  medicine-goddess.3  Echua 
was  the  patron  god  of  merchants  and  travellers.  To  him 
travellers  erected  every  night  an  altar  and  burned  incense 
thereon.4  Cuculcan,  the  founder  of  Mayapan,  has  been  con 
sidered  identical  with  Quetzalcoatl.  Although  this  identity 
has  not  been  established,  yet  there  is  some  probability  of  it. 
Many  of  the  followers  of  Cuculcan  were  deified,  two  of  whom 
became  gods  of  fishes,  two  of  farms,  and  one  of  thunder. 
They  wore  full  beards,  says  the  account  of  them,  showing 
their  anthropomorphic  character.5  Chilam  Cambal  was  their 
god  of  strength,  says  Ayeta;  Citboluntum  was  god  of  health, 
and  Xuchitun  of  song.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  all  of  these 
gods  of  the  Mayas  were  deified  men.  All  their  kings  and 
heroes,  for  whom  they  had  gratitude  or  fear,  were  apotheo 
sized.6 

Another  Maya  divinity,  by  the  name  of  Hunpictoc,  had  a 
temple  toward  the  southwest  from  Izamal.  This  name  was 
the  title  of  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  nobility,  to  whom  were  con 
fided  the  safety  of  the  king  and  the  security  of  the  temples. 
This  was  the  most  respectable  position  under  the  prince,  and 
his  eminent  services  were  probably  rewarded  with  an  apotheosis.7 


1  2  Brasseur,  Hist.  Mex.,  5.  2  2  ih.,  u.  33  Bancroft,  462. 

4  Gogol lu do,  bk.  10,  ch.  8.  23  Bancroft,  465. 

6  Cogulludo,  198.  7  2  Brasseur,  47. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS. 


107 


His  name  signifies  "  commander  of  eight  thousand  lances." 
Yucemil  was  god  of  death.  Food  was  sacrificed  to  him.  If 
he  became  hungry,  human  beings  were  his  victims.  Baklun 
Cham  was  the  Maya  Priapus,  and  was  worshipped  in  a  magnifi 
cent  temple  at  Merida.  Chac  was  god  of  agriculture.  Abchuy- 
Kak  was  another  apotheosized  warrior.  He  became  god  of  war, 
and  his  statue  was  borne  in  the  van  of  the  army  by  four  of  the 
most  illustrious  captains,  and  received  an  ovation  all  along  the 
route.  Yxchebelyax  was  god  of  painting  and  writing.1  Xibalba 
was  the  god  of  evil,  or  the  devil  of  their  religion.  Ayeta  gives 
the  name  of  Multimtizec  to  this  god,  and  the  change  of  this 
name  to  Xibalba  was  probably  brought  about  by  their  hostile 
connection  with  the  rising  Xibalban  empire,  hereafter  noticed. 
Most  of  the  Maya  gods  have  evidently  gained  their  celebrity  as 
historical  characters.  Very  little  is  told  of  most  of  them,  but 
their  anthropomorphic  character  is  unquestionable. 

The  Mijes,  a  Maya  nation,  surrounded  the  birth  and  death  of 
their  hero  Condoy  with  the  mystery  preceding  an  apotheosis. 
A  prince  of  indomitable  courage,  undertaking  great  conquests, 
he  was  defeated,  and,  with  his  followers,  driven  into  the  moun 
tain-range  of  Cempoaltipec.  He  and  his  followers  were  hunted 
down  like  the  beasts  of  the  forests,  and  would  fain  have  hidden 
themselves  in  the  dens  of  animals.  Condoy,  in  their  traditions, 
had  no  father  or  mother,  and  disappeared  as  mysteriously  as  he 
came.2  They  cherished  his  memory,  and  thought  he  had  been 
translated  among  the  gods. 

The  deities  of  the  Quiches  of  Guatemala  were  apotheosized 
men.  Hun  Hun  Ahpu  and  Vukab  Hunahpu  are  historical 
characters  who  figure  extensively  in  Quiche  traditions.  These 
two  culture-heroes  appear  to  have  gotten  into  difficulty  with 
the  princes  of  Xibalba,  and  were  beheaded.  This  tradition 
shows  their  anthropomorphic  character.  The  head  of  Hun 
Hun  Ahpu  was  placed  between  the  withered  branches  of  a 
calabash-tree,  whereupon  the  tree  became  immediately  laden 


3  Bancroft,  466-67.  2  3  Brasseur,  48-49. 


IOS  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

with  fruit,  and  the  head  turned  into  a  calabash.  The  tree  was 
thenceforth  held  sacred,  and  it  was  sacrilege  to  touch  it.  A 
princess,  however,  disobeys  the  injunction,  becomes  pregnant, 
and  brings  forth  two  sons,  named  Xbalanque  and  Hun  Ahpu,1 
who  after  many  adventures  overthrow  the  Xibalban  princes, 
and  apotheosize  Hun  Him  Ahpu,  whom  they  recognize  as  their 
father  by  the  mystery  of  an  incarnation.  Zipacna  and  Cabraken 
were  Herculean  princes  of  the  royal  house  of  Xibalba  at  the 
time  of  the  struggle  that  ensued,  and  for  their  heroism  had 
godlike  honors  in  their  mythology.  The  primitive  condition 
of  this  early  Xibalban  monarchy  is  shown  in  the  traditions. 
Vucub  Cakix,  the  monarch,  was  shot  by  Hun  Ahpu  and 
Xbalanque  while  eating  fruit  in  a  tree-top.  Zipacna,  his  son, 
who  carried  mountains  on  his  shoulders,  had  to  be  destroyed 
by  craft.  He  lived  on  crabs.  Hun  Ahpu  and  Xbalanque  made 
an  artificial  crab,  which  he  followed  into  the  cave  of  a  moun 
tain  which  had  been  previously  mined  by  them.  The  moun 
tain  fell  on  him  and  crushed  him.  Thus  ended  the  Hercules 
of  their  mythology.  Cabraken  was  poisoned,  and,  when  the 
strength  had  gone  out  of  him,  tied  and  buried  alive.2  Thus 
ended  the  dynasty  of  Vucub  Cakix.  Monarchs  that  climbed 
trees,  and  princes  that  crawled  on  the  earth  after  crabs,  were  sup 
planted  by  Hun  Ahpu  and  Xbalanque,  the  young  agriculturists, 
whose  enchanted  tools  worked  of  themselves  while  they  were 
away  on  the  mountain-side  hunting  deer.  The  dawn  of  agri 
culture  had  begun  before  the  hunting  life  had  closed.  While 
the  Quiche-Cakchichel  empire  was  in  process  of  formation,  a 
great  rivalry  arose,  as  should  be  expected,  between  the  gods 
of  the  respective  branches.  The  great  ancestors  of  the  Quiche 
branch  appear  to  have  been  rejected  by  a  portion  of  the  nation, 
who  favored  the  introduction  of  the  new  gods  Tohil  Avilixand 
Hacavitz.  Tohil  appears  to  have  been  the  creator  of  fire,  and 
probably  represented  an  era  of  progress.  As  a  condition  of 
granting  the  privilege  of  this  great  discovery  to  others,  he  in- 


1  3  Bancroft,  479-80.  2  5  ib.,  172-73. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  109 

sists  upon  an  agreement  to  worship  him.  Tohil  appears  in 
therr  early  history  as  the  leader  of  a  great  migration.  His  fol 
lowers  on  their  way  are  much  annoyed,  according  to  tradition, 
by  the  attacks  of  wild  animals,  meaning  undoubtedly  wild 
tribes  inhabiting  the  regions  through  which  they  passed. 
Balam  Quitze,  who  appears  to  have  been  high-priest  of  the 
migrating  tribe,  and  his  companions,  brought  these  wild  beasts 
and  offered  them  before  Tohil,  Avilix,  and  Hacavitz.  This 
introduction  of  human  sacrifice  enraged  the  tribes  of  the  in 
vaded  country.  At  last  great  hostility  to  Balam  Quitze  and 
his  companions  was  aroused  in  the  mountain-tribes,  who  found 
it  hard,  however,  to  track  the  invaders  on  the  fog-enveloped 
summits  of  the  Guatemalan  heights.  The  followers  of  Balam 
Quitze  found  it  equally  difficult  to  overcome  the  tribes  that 
were  arrayed  in  hostility  against  them.  It  was  at  last  agreed 
to  submit  the  new  gods,  Tohil,  Avilix,  and  Hacavitz,  to  an 
ordeal,  and  if  they  proved  to  be  the  great  and  worthy  gods  they 
were  represented,  then  there  would  be  a  submission  to  them. 
A  strange  plot  was  entered  into  to  test  their  virtue,  for  two 
beautiful  virgins  were  sent  to  wash  linen  in  the  stream  where 
Tohil,  Avilix,  and  Hacavitz  were  bathing  in  the  form  of  young 
men.  They  were  subjected  to  the  great  temptation,  but  they 
maintained  their  godlike  dignity  and  virtue.  They  were  the 
representatives  of  a  higher  morality  and  a  progressive  civiliza 
tion.  At  last  the  great  priest  Balam  Quitze  prepared  to  die, 
after  all  the  tribes  were  subjected  and  the  Quiche  empire  es 
tablished.  He  had  been  a  faithful  priest  and  leader.  The  tra 
ditions  say  that  he  disappeared  suddenly  and  mysteriously.1 

Tohil,  the  principal  god  of  the  Quiches  of  Guatemala,  ap 
pears  to  have  been  the  discoverer  of  fire.  This  fire  he  produced 
by  stamping  with  his  sandal.  Tohil  was  a  great  leader  of  the 
people  at  a  period  in  their  history  when  under  him  they  went 
forth  from  their  native  land.  They  endured  much  hardship. 
A  sea,  however,  parted  for  their  passage,  and  water  miraculously 

1  5  Bancroft,  548-52. 


HO  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

favored  them  in  their  migrations,  as  it  has  done  in  the  traditions 
of  almost  all  other  peoples.  It  does  not  require  much  investi 
gation  to  detect  apotheosized  men  in  the  Quiche  gods  Tohil, 
Avilix,  and  Hacavitz.  They  were  ancestral  gods  who  were 
once  men,  and  from  whom  the  Quiches  claim  to  have  sprung. 
Other  gods  of  Guatemala  are  Xchmel,  Xtmana,  and  Gucumatz, 
who  is  identical  probably  with  Quetzalcoatl,  who,  it  will  be  re 
membered,  when  exiled  sought  refuge  among  other  peoples. 

The  CJialialka  were  Guatemalan  household  gods,  who  pre 
sided  over  houses.  When  they  built  a  house  they  dedicated 
the  central  part  to  these  gods,  and  kept  a  place  of  sacrifice  to 
them.  They  prayed  to  them  that  good  fortune  should  favor 
the  house.1  They  are  identical  with  the  spirits  of  their  dead 
relatives,2  and  a  survival  of  house-burial.  Incense  was  burned 
and  sacrifices  made  to  these  ancestral  deities. 

Pezelao  appears  to  have  been  the  principal  god  of  the  Za- 
potecs.  He  was  their  god  of  the  dead  and  lord  of  the  sacred 
places  of  Yopaa.3 

The  spiritual  pontiff  of  Yopaa  was  looked  upon  as  a  god  by 
the  Zapotecs,  whom  the  earth  was  unworthy  to  hold,  or  the  sun 
to  shine  upon.  No  one  dared  look  upon  him,  but  all  fell  with 
their  faces  to  the  ground.  The  most  powerful  lords  never 
entered  his  presence  without  bare  feet.4  Pitao  Peeci,  another 
of  their  gods,  presided  over  auguries  and  divination,5  and  was 
undoubtedly  an  ancient  high-priest.  Pitao  Pecala  inspired  their 
dreams.  Cociyo  was  the  rain  god,  and  gave  or  withheld  the 
showers  as  he  pleased.6  Wichaana  was  god  of  fish,  and  was 
thought  to  be  their  creator.  The  earliest  ancestor  remembered 
by  a  people  is  usually  elevated  to  this  position.  Piltzinteolli, 
the  child-god,  a  representation  of  whose  youthful  form  was 
reared  in  several  places  in  Jalisco,  had  offerings  of  the  choicest 
fruit  and  flowers.7  In  Oajaca,  as  might  be  expected  of  a  people 


1  Ximenez,  188.  3  3  Bancroft,  481. 

3  3  Brasseur,  26.  4  2  Bancroft,  142-43. 

s  2  ib.,  27.  «2ib.,27. 
7  3  ib.,  444-47- 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  in 

who  regarded  living  kings  and  priests  with  adoration,  apothe 
osis  was  common.  Petela,  an  ancient  Zapotec  cacique,  was 
worshipped  in  the  cavern  of  Coatlan.  At  one  end  of  this 
subterranean  temple  a  yawning  abyss  received  the  foaming 
waters  of  a  mountain-torrent,  and  into  this  were  thrown 
human  sacrifices,  gayly  dressed  and  adorned  with  flowers. 
Pinopia,  a  saintly  princess  of  Zapotecapan,  was  worshipped  in 
another  place.  Her  corpse  had  been  miraculously  conveyed 
to  heaven.1  Wixepecocha,  a  reformer  and  prophet  of  the 
Zapotecs,  was  worshipped.  A  statue  of  this  god  was  found 
near  Tehuantepec.2 

The  principal  goddess  of  the  natives  of  the  province  of  Cer- 
quin,  in  Honduras,  was  Comizagual,a  woman  who  came  among 
them  from  other  parts,  according  to  tradition.  She  was  skilled 
in  the  art  of  magic,  and  came  into  their  province  flying  through 
the  air.  She  had  three  sons  without  being  married,  and,  ac 
cording  to  the  usual  traditions  in  such  cases,  without  knowing 
man.  After  ruling  with  equity,  she  was  translated  in  the  fol 
lowing  manner :  she  ordered  her  bed  brought  out  of  the  house, 
when  there  came  a  great  flash  of  lightning  with  thunder,  and 
Comizagual  was  never  seen  more.3 

Oviedo  says  the  Nicaraguans  knew  nothing  of  the  "  One 
Creator."  The  anthropomorphic  character  of  their  creators  is 
evident  from  what  Oviedo  tells  us  of  Tamagostad  and  Zipal- 
tonal.  These  Nicaraguan  creators  were  a  man  and  woman, 
from  whom  the  Indians  claimed  descent.  They  asserted,  with 
the  greatest  assurance,  that  their  ancestors  were  the  greatest 
gods.  In  their  description  of  them  they  gave  them  the  same 
color  as  the  Indians,  and  said  they  ate  the  same  things.4  Since 
they  were  themselves  anthropophagi,  they  said  their  gods 
delighted  in  human  flesh.5 

Nezahualcoyotl,  king  of  Acolhuacan,  in  popular  belief  was 


1  3  Bancroft,  457.  2  4  ib.,  372. 

3  4  Herrera,  137.  *  Oviedo,  19-26. 

s  Ib.,  61. 


112  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

placed  among  the  gods,  even  though  he  died  after  the  Spanish 
inroad ;  but  the  age  of  apotheosis  was  about  closing. 

The  most  prominent  personage  in  the  Isthmian  pantheon 
was  Dabaiba.  She  is  described  as  a  native  princess  whose 
reign  was  marked  by  great  wisdom  and  many  miracles,  and 
who  was  apotheosized  after  her  death.  She  was  said  to  control 
the  thunder  and  lightning,  and  to  bring  showers  or  produce 
drought  as  she  pleased.1 

Xolotl  was  the  leader  of  the  first  Chichemec  invasion.2  He 
was  deified.  Wanacace  was  another  of  their  gods,  and  an 
cestor  of  the  branch  of  the  Chichemecs  called  Wanacaces. 
Hereti  was  also  one  of  their  primitive  heroes,  who  became  a 
patron  saint.3 

The  worship  of  great  national  gods  did  not  supplant  the 
worship  of  family  gods,  but  supplemented  it,  as  in  the  case  of 
the  classical  nations  of  antiquity.  Thus  often  we  find  the  hus 
band  worshipping  his  family  god  and  the  wife  hers.  Thus, 
Iri  Ticatame,  in  departing  from  his  capital,  took  his  god  Curi- 
caneri  with  him,  while  his  wife  took  her  god  Nasoricuare 
wrapped  up  in  a  rich  cloth.4  She  was  no  more  willing  to 
desert  her  family  god  than  was  Rachel  to  leave  behind  her  the 
idols  of  her  father  Laban. 

Bochica  was  the  leading  mythical  character  in  Bogota.  He 
had  the  fabulous  age  of  two  thousand  years  ascribed  to  him, 
and  this  time  was  all  employed  in  elevating  his  subjects.  The 
Chibchas  apotheosized  Bochica  as  the  founder  of  their  laws  and 
institutions.  Bochica  lives  in  the  sun,  and  has  the  privilege  of 
standing  at  the  head  of  their  pantheon.  His  wife  Chia  was 
deified  with  him,  and  occupies  the  moon.  The  powerful  Toma- 
gata,  one  of  their  oldest  caciques,  was  deified.5  Another  of 
their  deities  was  Bachue,  a  beautiful  female,  from  whom  they 
descended.  She  after  a  period  of  time  disappeared  by  meta 
morphosis  ;  but  statues  of  gold  and  wood  are  still  to  be  seen 

1  3  Bancroft,  498.  2  Ixtliltxochitl,  ire  partie,  29. 

3  3  Brasseur,  80.  *  5  Bancroft,  512. 

s  Bollaert,  48. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  113 

representing  her.  Their  patron  deity  was  Chibchacum,  although 
his  power  was  not  so  great  as  that  of  Bochica.  Chibchacum 
in  an  angry  mood  brought  a  deluge  on  the  people  of  the  table 
land.  Bochica  punished  him  severely  for  this  act,  and  obliged 
him  thenceforth  to  bear  the  burden  of  the  earth.  He  was  the 
Atlas  of  the  New  World.  He  had  not  arisen  above  subjection 
to  fatigue,  for  he  occasionally  shifted  the  earth  from  one  shoulder 
to  another,  and  he  sometimes  did  this  so  carelessly  that  severe 
earthquakes  were  produced.  Neucatocoa  was  the  god  of  revelry 
and  drunkenness,  and  was  the  Bacchus  of  the  Chibchas.  He 
appears  to  be  the  only  one  not  bearing  a  strictly  anthropomor 
phic  character.  He  is  represented  as  a  bear  covered  with  a 
mantle.  Sorro  was  the  god  who  had  charge  of  the  boundaries 
of  their  fields.1 

Gacheta  is  a  famous  virgin  who  conceived  and  brought  forth 
Garanchaca,  a  famous  chief  who  ruled  over  them.  She  de 
clared  the  sun  to  be  the  father  of  her  boy.  This  is  another 
case  of  immaculate  conception. 

Xue,  a  great  benefactor  of  his  people,  has  received  a  place 
in  their  pantheon.  He  appears  to  have  been  a  great  preacher 
to  whom  large  concourses  of  people  repaired  for  instruction. 
He  also  taught  them  to  spin  and  weave.2 

The  Muyscas  of  Bogota  had  a  god  named  Queteba,  who 
fashioned  the  surface  of  the  earth  as  it  now  is.  With  a  single 
blow  he  opened  a  cliff  in  the  Andes,  through  which  flows  the 
river  Funha.3 

The  historical  deities  were  those  which  initiated  men  into 
social  life  and  were  founders  of  civil  or  religious  institutions. 
Although  the  worship  of  spirits  which  was  so  prevalent  among 
all  the  uncivilized  tribes  still  survived  among  the  more  civilized 
nations,  yet  the  worship  of  culture-heroes  was  peculiarly  dis 
tinctive  of  the  latter.  The  chief  of  these  deified  men  in  the 
Peruvian  history  was  Viracocha,  who  more  than  once  appeared 
in  human  form  to  the  Inca  of  the  same  name,  saying  he  was  the 

1  Bollaert,  12-13.  2  Ib-»  21-22.  3  Brinton's  Relig.  Sent.,  240. 


PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

brother  of  Manco  Capac.  The  Inca  ordered  a  magnificent  tem 
ple  to  be  constructed  to  this  apparition.  In  the  temple  stood  a 
statue  of  the  deity  as  he  appeared  to  the  Inca,  in  which  he  was 
represented  as  a  man  with  a  beard.  Viracocha  was  of  large 
stature,  and  his  power  so  great  that  he  brought  down  the  moun 
tains,  raised  the  valleys,  and  made  water  spring  from  the  rocks. 
He  taught  the  people  to  love  one  another.  They  formed  idols  in 
his  likeness  and  reared  temples  to  his  glory.  He  passed  toward 
the  north,  but  their  legends  appear  to  confirm  his  reappearance 
some  time  after  on  a  different  mission.  He  now  healed  the  sick 
and  gave  sight  to  the  blind,  but  after  having  been  subjected  to 
persecution  he  went  to  the  sea-shore  and  spread  his  mantle 
upon  its  waves,  went  away,  and  has  never  been  seen  since.1 

Another  culture-hero  is  Ayarache,  who  founded  Pacaritambo. 
He  was  so  strong  he  could  throw  down  the  hills.  He  appears 
to  have  used  a  sling.  Ayarache  was  at  last  enticed  into  a  cave 
by  his  two  brothers,  who  immediately  stopped  up  the  mouth 
of  it  with  stones.  In  his  efforts  to  get  out,  many  mountains 
and  high  hills  fell  down  upon  him,  and  thus  ended  Ayarache.2 
His  two  brothers,  Aranca  and  Ayarmango,  erected  the  town 
of  Tamboquiro,  and  appear  to  have  been  sorcerers.  Although 
they  had  dealt  so  treacherously  with  their  brother,  they  pre 
tended  to  commune  with  him  and  obey  his  directions,  given 
from  time  to  time.  Aranca  was  at  last  turned  into  a  stone,  but 
Ayarmango  founded  the  city  of  Cuzco,  and  was  known  there 
after  as  Manco  Capac.3  He  deified  his  two  brothers.4 

All  the  Incas  after  death  enjoyed  deification,  and  their  apothe 
osis  began  in  life.  The  Peruvians  also  adored  heroes  in  some 
of  the  provinces,  which  worship  prevailed  before  the  conquest 
of  the  Incas.  In  the  ancient  town  of  Huahualla  they  sacrificed 
to  the  mummies  of  Caxaparca  and  his  son  Huaratanga,  both 
dressed  in  the  garb  of  warriors.5  In  Quichumarca  they  wor 
shipped  Huari  and  his  two  brothers.  Apuyurac  was  wor- 


4  Herrera,  285.  2  4  ib.,  286.  3  4  ib.,  287-89.  «  4  ib.,  290. 

s  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  Ant.,  163-66. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  115 

shipped  in  the  town  of  Hupa,  and  also  his  son  in  the  town  of 
Tamor.  The  race  of  Sopac  worshipped  Apri-Xillin  and  his 
son  Huayna.  In  the  valley  of  Janja,  Huarivilca  was  worshipped, 
and  a  sumptuous  temple  constructed  to  him.  The  family  deities 
were  generally  the  entire  bodies  of  their  ancestors,  so  arranged 
in  the  tombs  that  they  could  see  them  and  offer  them  sacrifices.1 
The  natives  of  Quito  adored  Pacha  and  Eacha,  who  were  gods, 
but  had  formerly  been  heroes.2 

This  cursory  examination  of  the  pantheons  of  the  more  civ 
ilized  nations  has  been  made  for  the  purpose  of  showing  that 
their  gods  were  historical  characters  and  their  worship  was  the 
worship  of  human  spirits. 

I  will  now  notice  the  worship  of  idols,  as  it  is  closely  con 
nected  with  the  subject  of  the  worship  of  human  spirits.  Idolatry 
in  its  lowest  form,  and  its  development  under  higher  conditions 
of  civilization,  can  be  advantageously  studied  among  the  native 
races  of  America.  Conspicuous  by  its  absence  among  many 
of  the  lower  tribes,  image-worship  comes  plainly  into  view 
among  those  in  the  upper  levels  of  savagery.  The  Mandans 
howled  and  whined  and  made  their  prayers  before  puppets  of 
grass  and  skins.  The  Virginians  had  idols  with  temples  set 
apart  for  them,  and  a  priesthood.  To  supply  the  demand  of 
the  natives  of  the  West  India  Islands  for  idols,  one  island  near 
Hayti  had  a  population  of  idol-makers.  In  Mexico,  idolatry 
attained  its  full  development.  In  the  higher  culture  of  Peru, 
the  idols  of  conquered  provinces  were  carried,  half  trophies, 
half  hostages,  to  Cuzco,  to  rank  among  the  inferior  deities  of 
the  Peruvian  pantheon,  while  the  nobility  of  the  empire  were  ad 
vancing  one  step-higher  to  the  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies.3 

Mr.  Spencer  thinks  the  savage  may  have  been  prepared  to 
suspect  animation  in  inanimate  things  by  discovering  plants 
and  animals  embedded  in  rock.  I  am  persuaded  that  idolatry 
owes  its  origin  to  the  belief  that  disembodied  spirits  are  every 
where  present,  ready  to  transmigrate  into  inanimate  objects, 

1  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  Ant.,  169-70.          2  Bollaert,  84.         3  2  Tylor,  172-73. 


Il6  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

and  that  they  will  enter  readily  any  image  that  bears  any  re 
semblance  to  the  body  formerly  inhabited  by  that  spirit,  or 
any  image  containing  any  fragment  of  that  former  body.  The 
more  civilized  races  made  images  of  persons  while  living,  or 
soon  after  death,  and  into  these  were  put  their  ashes  or  some 
part  of  their  body  after  death.  This  they  thought  insured  the 
presence  of  the  spirit  in  that  idol,  and  the  priests  strengthened 
the  credulity  of  the  people  by  speaking  through  these  images 
in  such  a  way  as  to  deceive  them  into  the  belief  that  the  images 
spoke. 

Among  the  more  primitive  peoples  a  rude  idolatry  appears. 
When  a  child  dies  among  the  Ojibways  they  cut  some  of  its 
hair  and  make  a  little  doll,  which  they  call  the  doll  of  sorrow. 
This  lifeless  object  takes  the  place  of  the  deceased  child.  This 
the  mother  carries  for  a  year.  She  places  it  near  her  at  the 
fire,  and  sighs  often  when  gazing  on  it.  She  carries  it  wher 
ever  she  goes.  They  think  that  the  child's  spirit  has  entered 
this  bundle  and  can  be  helped  by  its  mother.  Presents  and 
sacrificial  gifts  are  made  to  it.  Toys  and  useful  implements 
are  tied  to  the  doll  for  its  use.1 

La  Poterie  mentions  the  same  custom  among  the  savages  of 
the  Canadas.  This  is  the  most  primitive  form  of  idolatry. 

Among  the  Northwestern  tribes,  says  McKenny,  "  I  have 
noticed  several  women  here  carrying  with  them  rolls  of  cloth 
ing.  On  inquiring  what  these  imported,  I  learn  that  they  are 
widows,  who  carry  these  bundles  when  their  husbands  die. 
This  bundle  is  called  her  husband,  and  she  must  never  be  seen 
without  it.  If  she  walks  out,  she  takes  it  with  her.  If  she 
sits  down,  she  places  it  by  her  side.  This  badge  of  widow 
hood  she  is  compelled  to  carry  until  some  of  her  husband's 
family  takes  it  away."2  When  presents  are  given  round,  this 
bundle,  or  "  husband,"  comes  in  for  an  equal  share,  as  if  living.3 
A  mother,  on  losing  her  child,  prepares  an  image  of  it  and 
fixes  it  in  a  cradle,  and  goes  through  the  ceremony  of  nursing 


Kohl's  Kitchi-Gami,  108.  2  McKenny's  Tour,  292.  3  Ib.,  293. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  117 

it  for  a  year.1  The  Knistenaux,  who  killed  their  parents  when 
old,  always  made  a  bunch  of  feathers  tied  with  a  string  into  a 
doll-shaped  image  of  them,  and  treated  it  with  superstitious 
reverence.2 

The  next  step  is  to  make  images  out  of  wood  or  roughly- 
hewn  stones  which  require  but  little  alteration  to  make  them 
into  the  representation  desired.  A  good  many  of  the  tribes  of 
British  America  and  the  Northern  United  States  made  these 
rough  idols  and  worshipped  them. 

Among  many  tribes  whose  art  is  still  in  a  rude  state,  a  grave- 
post  is  roughly  hewn  into  the  image  of  the  person  over  whose 
body  it  is  placed.  Mr.  McCoy  says,  "  Among  the  Ottawas  we 
often  discovered  at  the  heads  of  their  graves  a  post  somewhat 
proportioned  to  the  size  of  the  deceased.  When  any  one  visited 
the  grave,  they  rapped  on  the  post  with  a  stick  to  announce 
their  arrival  to  the  spirit.  On  the  upper  end  of  this  post  was 
cut  a  slight  resemblance  of  the  human  face."  The  Indians  not 
far  from  Quebec,  while  the  Jesuit  priests  were  among  them, 
whenever  any  one  died,  cut  his  portrait  and  put  it  on  the  grave, 
"  anointing  and  greasing  that  man  of  wood  as  if  living,"  says 
Father  Lalamant.  Among  the  Algonkins  a  post  was  generally 
placed  on  the  graves  of  the  dead  and  their  portraits  carved 
thereon.3  The  Alaskans  ornamented  all  their  graves  with 
carved  and  painted  faces.4  This  rude  form  of  preserving  images 
of  the  dead  represents  a  primitive  form  of  idolatry,  and  con 
nects  it  with  the  worship  of  the  dead. 

"  Outside  of  the  Indian  graves  of  the  Northwest  are  fre 
quently  found  the  images  of  those  buried,"  says  Mr.  Brown, 
who  found  three  figures  carved  out  of  wood  placed  outside  a 
grave.  One  of  the  figures  represented  a  man  who  had  a  rifle 
over  his  knee  ready  to  guard  the  bodies  from  desecration.  The 
figure  of  a  woman  was  postured  as  if  knitting  a  mat.5 


1  McKenny's  Tour,  293-94.  2  Brinton,  275. 

3  2  Charlevoix,  Journal,  185.  4  Whymper,  101. 

5  i  Brown's  Races,  109. 


PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 


FIG.  4. 


The  natives  of  Chile  decorate  the  graves  of  their  chiefs  with 
figures  representing  the  chief  and  his  wives  placed  around  the 
grave.  Each  figure  is  cut  from  a  huge  log 
of  wood  ten  or  twelve  feet  high.  These  rude 
figures  are  carved  by  professionals,  who  get 
enormous  prices  for  their  work.  Sometimes 
as  high  a  price  as  an  ox  is  given  for  one  of 
these  rude  figures.  No  grandee  is  considered 
buried  unless  his  grave  is  decorated  with  these 
figures.1 

In  the  West  Indies  the  tombs  had  planks 
over  them,  some  of  which  bore  the  likeness 
of  the  entombed  person.2 

Fig.  4  illustrates   the  configuration  of  the 
grave-post  into  the  likeness  of  the  deceased. 
It  is  the  headstone  of  a  Nicaraguan  grave.3 

Fig.  5  is  an  image  of  the  son  of  an  Alaskan  chief  placed  over 
the  tomb. 

Images  of  men  and  women  were  made 
and  placed  near  the  bodies  of  those  de 
posited  in  the  bone-houses  or  primitive  tem 
ples  of  the  tribes  of  the  Southern  United 
States.  "  Their  temples  had  rows  of  statues 
round  about  them  on  the  four  sides,  and  a 
row  of  women  opposite  a  row  of  men. 
These  statues  were  placed  opposite  the  dead 
bodies"  which  they  were  made  to  represent 
in  life/ 

Among  the  Isthmians  the  image  of  a  great 
warrior  was  made  at  death  and  carried  in 
procession  to  the  place  of  burial.5 

The  same  custom  prevailed  in  Peru.     The  images  of  the 
dead  were  made  and  set  up  in  their  tombs  and  worshipped. 

1  2  Wood's  Uncivilized  Races,  567  ;  Smith's  Araucanians,  309. 

2  I  Herrera,  266.  3  Pim  and  German's  Dottings,  Plate. 
*  3  Picart,  113.                                    23  ib.,  176. 


FIG.  5. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  119 

All  the  Incas  had  this  honor  conferred  on  them,  and  their 
images  were  carried  in  the  funeral  processions,  and  sacrifices 
made  to  them.1     Fig.  6  is  an  image  of 
one  of  the  Incas,  and  was  an  object  of 
worship. 

They  also  made  statues  of  their  chiefs 
during  their  lives,  and  these  statues,  made 
in  the  likeness  of  the  chief,  were  served  as 
if  they  had  been  alive,  and  villages  were 
set  apart  to  provide  them  with  necessaries. 

Among  the  Mayas,  merchants  who 
died  away  from  home,  or  warriors  who 
were  killed  in  battle  whose  bodies  could 

not  be  found,  were  represented  by  images  which  were  made  of 
them,  and  these  images  received  all  the  funeral  ceremonies 
which  their  bodies  would  have  received.  If  any  one  was 
drowned  and  the  body  lost,  they  made  an  image  of  it,  which 
they  treated  in  the  same  manner.  To  these  images  they  made 
offerings. 

Among  the  Mayas  of  Yucatan  images  of  all  those  who  died 
were  made  and  worshipped.2  They  cut  off  the  heads  of  their 
lords  and  chief  men  when  they  died  and  kept  them  along  with 
their  statues.  They  made  wooden  statues  of  their  dead  parents, 
and  left  a  hollow  in  the  neck  where  they  put  in  their  ashes  and 
kept  them  among  their  idols.3 

Among  those  tribes  where  cremation  has  supplanted  inter 
ment,  a  statue  of  the  deceased  is  made,  to  contain  his  ashes  or 
to  be  placed  beside  the  vessel  containing  them. 

The  Mexicans  preserved  the  ashes,  hair,  and  teeth  of  the 
dead  and  put  them  in  little  boxes,  above  which  was  placed  a 
wooden  figure  shaped  and  adorned  like  the 'deceased. 

The  Aztec  monarchs  were  cremated,  and  their  ashes,  charred 
bones,  and  hair  gathered  together  in  an  urn,  near  which  was 
placed  a  statue  of  the  monarch  attired  in  his  royal  habiliments.4 


1  Jos.  d'Acosta,  book  5,  chap.  6.  2  2  Bancroft,  800. 

3  5  Herrera,  175.  42  Bancroft*  61 1. 


120  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

The  Tarascan  kings  were  cremated  and  their  ashes  and 
valuables  made  into  a  figure  which  was  dressed  in  royal  habili 
ments,  with  a  mask  for  its  face.1 

The  Scyris  had  in  their  tombs  a  hollow  figure  of  the  de 
ceased,  within  which  were  placed  stones  of  divers  colors  and 
shapes,  denoting  the  age  and  other  biographical  data  of  the 
deceased.2  These  images  were  objects  of  worship. 

The  Mayas  made  hollow  clay  images,  or  hollow  statues  of 
wood,  in  which  they  placed  the  ashes  of  the  burned  bodies  of 
their  monarchs.  They  offered  food  to  these  images  at  their 
festivals.  Thus  cremation  led  those  peoples  practising  it  to  a 
different  form  of  idolatry  than  that  of  making  and  worshipping 
grave-posts  that  were  carved  into  the  image  of  the  deceased. 
Cremation  among  the  more  civilized  peoples  led  them  to  the 
manufacture  of  hollow  images  of  the  dead,  capable  of  holding 
their  ashes,  or  of  urns  to  contain  the  ashes,  near  which  stood 
the  image  of  the  deceased. 

Many  of  these  sepulchral  vases,  made  to  hold  the  ashes  of 
the  dead,  had  upon  the  outside  of  them  a  representation  of  the 
deceased,  and  then  they  became  the  apparent  objects  of  wor 
ship.  On  Plate  III.  we  find  such  a  burial-vase  of  the  Mexicans. 
Among  all  the  Nahua  nations,  offerings  of  choice  viands,  wine, 
and  flowers  were  placed  before  these  caskets  containing  the 
dead.3  The  Mayas  erected  temples  over  the  urns  containing 
the  ashes  of  the  dead.4  The  Peruvians  placed  the  ashes  of 
Viracocha  in  a  small  jar  of  gold,  and  offered  sacrifices  to  it.5 
The  Peruvian  cavaliers  of  royal  blood,  Curacas,and  other  mag 
nates,  were  deposited  in  large  vases  of  gold  and  silver  in  the 
form  of  urns,  which  were  found  in  the  meadows  and  woods.6 
They  worshipped  these  specimens  of  pottery. 

One  of  the  most  famous  Huacas  worshipped  by  several  prov 
inces  in  Peru  was  in  the  form  of  a  large  jar  surrounded  by 
eight  other  jars.  Near  it  were  many  small  rabbits  which  had 


1  2  Bancroft,  621.        2  Bollaert,  88.        3  2  Bancroft,  618.        *  5  Herrera,  175. 
s  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  Per.  Ant.,  Tr.  Hawks,  166.  6  Ib.,  200-1. 


PLATE   III, 


SEPULCHRAL    URN, 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  1 21 

been  offered  in  sacrifice.1  Many  of  their  conopas,  or  family 
gods,  were  such  clay  jars,  hollow  within.  Twin  children  dying 
at  an  early  age  were  placed  in  earthen  pots  and  worshipped 
as  sacred  beings.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  worship  of 
these  hollow  clay  images  or  jars  is  due,  not  to  any  special 
reverence  for  the  image  itself,  but  because  they  were  used  as 
burial-urns  and  contained  the  ashes  or  some  portion  of  the 
body  of  the  deceased.  This  subject  is  well  illustrated  by  Fig. 
7,  representing  the  burial-urn  of  a  Brazilian  chief.2 

FIG.  7. 


It  is  very  difficult  to  determine  just  how  far  we  might  go  in 
making  the  art  of  the  American  nations  tributary  to  the  elucida 
tion  of  their  religious  history.  It  is  probable  that  all  primitive 
art  reflects  the  religious  life  of  the  people,  even  if  religion  did 
not  originate  their  art.  The  first  form  of  art  among  the  Ameri 
can  aborigines,  exclusive  of  the  manufacture  of  their  rude  im 
plements,  is  undoubtedly  seen  in  their  ornamentation,  which 
was  fetichistic,  which  will  be  treated  under  the  head  of  feti- 

1  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  168-69.  2  Denis,  Bresil,  404. 


122  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

chism.  The  next  progressive  step  was  toward  idolatry,  which 
was  followed  by  elaboration  of  sepulchral  structures  culmi 
nating  in  temples.  "  By  a  superstition  indigenous  to  all  lands, 
people  without  records  have  left  their  annals  in  their  graves. 
In  the  belief  that  their  wants  and  occupations  would  be  the 
same  in  the  spirit-land  as  they  were  here,  they  had  their  house 
hold  and  personal  effects  interred  with  them.  We  can  scarcely 
regret  the  prevalence  of  a  delusion  which  has  been  the  means 
of  making  us  acquainted  with  the  arts  and  habits  of  peoples 
of  whom  otherwise  we  could  have  known  little."  J 

The  pottery  found  in  the  tombs  is  a  very  large  part  of  it 
fashioned  after  some  object  of  veneration.  Very  little  of  it  is 
perfectly  plain  and  free  from  a  quasi-idolatrous  shape  or  picture 
representing  some  man,  animal,  or  mythological  character.  A 
Peruvian  vase  is  of  special  interest  on  account  of  the  light  it 
reflects  upon  one  of  the  modes  by  which  Peruvians  perpetuated 
the  features  and  characters  of  prominent  men.  It  is  a  vase  bust, 
representing  the  head  of  the  famous  cacique  Ruminhauy.  The 
features  are  strongly  developed,  and  with  indisputable  traits  of 
an  individual's  portrait.  These  baked  clay  busts  preceded 
marble  statuary  in  the  Old  World.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  what  a 
prominent  feature  of  their  religious  history  their  art  history  be 
comes.  The  worship  of  urns  used  in  urn-burial  has  of  course 
resulted  from  the  association  of  the  urn  with  the  person  de 
posited  in  it.  The  same  is  true  of  the  idols  which  were  made 
to  hold  the  ashes  of  the  dead.  The  worship  is  not  at  first  di 
rected  toward  the  material  part  of  the  urn  or  idol,  or  even  the 
representation  it  may  have  upon  it  of  the  deceased,  but  it  is 
directed  toward  the  spirit  supposed  to  reside  there.  In  the  case 
of  the  conopas  and  other  images,  the  theory  of  the  entry  of  a 
spirit  into  anything  representing  natural  objects  explains  the 
apparently  unreasonable  worship  of  material  things.  Many 
mythical  characters  appear  on  their  vases. 

Gateways  to  towns   were   often   of  idolatrous   forms.     The 

1  Evv bank's  Brazil,  Appendix. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  123 

monolithic  gateway  of  Tiahuanaco  gives  us  a  mythological 
group  of  representations  of  condor,  tiger,  serpent,  and  sun,  sur 
rounding  a  central  human  figure,  toward  which  winged  human- 
headed  figures  are  kneeling.  It  was  the  custom  of  pagan  nations 
to  adorn  the  gateways  of  cities  and  entrances  to  temples  and 
palaces  with  one  or  more  figures  of  deities  who  were  the  pro 
tecting  genii  of  the  place.  A  former  monarch  was  often  selected 
for  this  responsible  position.  Frequently,  however,  one  or  more 
persons  were  buried  alive  beneath  the  walls  of  the  gateway, 
that  their  spirits  might  be  ever  present  to  guard  the  place. 

The  belief  in  the  vitality  of  idols  can  be  illustrated  by  many 
curious  facts.  The  inhabitants  of  Lambayeque,  Peru,  said  they 
came  from  the  north,  bringing  with  them  an  idol  of  green  stone 
called  Llanpallec,  which  represented  their  ancient  chief.  They 
built  a  temple  for  this  idol  at  a  place  called  Chot.  When  they 
attempted  to  remove  this  idol  from  its  temple  after  many  gene 
rations,  it  became  very  much  enraged  and  brought  on  them 
drought  and  famine.  It  was  somewhat  appeased  by  their 
throwing  the  chief  who  had  committed  this  sacrilege  into  the 
sea.1 

The  belief  of  idolatrous  nations  in  that  vitality  of  images 
which  makes  them  capable  of  feelings  of  pain  and  pleasure,  and 
which  endows  them  frequently  with  a  capacity  for  speech  and 
motion,  is  due  to  the  imposture  of  priests.  The  idols  of  pagan 
nations  which  have  temples  and  priests  attached  to  them  are 
generally  hollow  and  so  placed  that  they  can  be  spoken  through 
by  priests  or  others  attached  to  their  temples.  Thus  originated 
the  belief  in  oracles.  This  imposture  of  priestcraft  was  very 
prevalent  among  many  of  the  American  peoples.  The  Haytian 
idols  were  hollow,  and  so  large  that  the  priests  could  speak 
through  them  and  delude  the  people,  who  thought  the  idol 
spoke.2  The  priests  would  often  get  inside  of  these  idols  in 
order  to  practise  this  imposition.  This  rendered  it  necessary 
to  make  those  large  idols  which  were  used  in  the  temples  of 

1  Squier's  Peru,  169.  2  McCulloh's  Ant.  Res.,  108. 


124  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

the  more  civilized  American  races.  Many  of  these  were  found 
in  Mexico  and  Yucatan  and  the  West  India  islands.  In  the 
island  of  Barbadoes  an  enormous  clay  idol  was  found,  whose 
head  alone  weighed  sixty  pounds.1 

The  Virginia  Indians  had  an  idol  in  one  of  their  temples 
which  the  priest  moved  about  before  the  people  and  made  it 
answer  questions.  They  thought  it  was  alive.2 

An  idol  mentioned  by  Martyr,  which  was  found  in  the  West 
Indies  and  was  made  of  wood,  was  thought  by  the  natives  to 
go  about  by  itself.  It  would  hide  itself  in  the  woods,  and  they 
would  search  a  great  while  to  find  it,  and  bring  it  back.3 

Says  Roman  Pane,  the  natives  of  Hispaniola  had  many  idols 
which  they  thought  spoke  to  them,  and  when  food  was  placed 
before  them  and  left  there,  and  the  priests  devoured  it,  the  idols 
were  thought  to  have  eaten  it.  He  mentions  many  such  cases 
of  imposture.  "  Guamorete,  a  man  of  note,  had  a  cemi  (idol)  in 
his  house,  which,  when  his  house  was  burned  by  his  enemies, 
got  up  and  went  a  bowshot  from  the  place,  near  to  a  water.  He 
would  come  down  from  on  top  of  the  house  where  he  was  put. 
He  had  two  crowns  grow  on  his  head.  Another  cemi  had  four 
feet  like  a  dog's,  and  was  made  of  wood.  He  would  often  at 
night  go  out  of  the  house  into  the  woods,  and  when  brought 
home  again  and  bound  with  cords,  yet  he  would  get  away 
into  the  woods  again ;  and  when  the  Christians  came  he  broke 
away  and  went  into  a  morass,  where  they  tracked  him,  but  never 
saw  him  again.  There  was  another  one  which  they  found  in  a 
ditch.  It  was  a  log  which  appeared  to  have  life  in  it.  Taking 
it  out,  they  built  a  house  to  it.  It  went  out  of  that  house  sev 
eral  times  and  returned  to  the  place  whence  they  brought  it.  At 
another  time  they  bound  and  put  it  in  a  sack,  and  yet  it  went 
away  as  before."  The  same  author  says  the  Indians  will  often 
see  a  log  of  wood,  and  through  some  hallucination  will  think 
it  directs  them  to  make  it  into  an  idol,  which  they  immediately 
do.  In  the  valley  of  Rimac,  Peru,  there  was  an  idol  in  the 

1  I  Edvvards's  West  Indies,  51.  a  3  Picart,  113.  3  Decades,  47. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  125 

figure  of  a  man,  which  answered  questions  and  became  famous 
as' an  oracle.  Thus  idols  were  supposed  to  have  all  the  sagacity 
and  passions  of  human  beings. 

The  Tarascos  in  their  migrations  appear  to  have  been  led  by 
an  idol,  and  their  city  «Izintzuntzan  was  founded  upon  a  spot 
pointed  out  by  a  supposed  auspicious  omen,  for  a  multitude  of 
gorgeous  birds  congregated  in  the  air  above  their  idol,  and 
formed  a  brilliant  canopy  for  the  sacred  image.1 

Uxmal  is  said  to  have  been  destroyed  through  the  anger  of 
their  idols,  who  were  outraged  because  a  new  clay  god  was 
made  by  a  usurper  and  worshipped  by  the  people.2 

This  supposed  vitality  of -idols  was  taught  by  the  priesthood, 
who  by  this  means  increased  their  influence  and  power. 

In  Hispaniola,  the  Spaniards  found  a  conspiracy  between  the 
cacique  and  priesthood  to  deceive  the  people.  Hearing  that  a 
certain  idol  spoke  to  the  people,  the  Spaniards  were  present  at 
one  of  these  performances,  and  they  found  that  the  statue  was 
hollow,  with  a  hollow  tube  connecting  with  it,  through  which 
the  priest  spoke  to  the  people.  The  cacique  begged  the  Span 
iards  not  to  disclose  this  to  the  Indians,  because  by  that  artifice 
he  kept  them  in  subjection.3 

Among  the  tribes  formerly  inhabiting  the  territory  of  the 
United  States  idolatry  did  not  prevail  to  the  same  extent  as 
it  did  among  the  more  civilized  races.  Many  rude  idols  have 
been  found,  however,  which  were  objects  of  worship.  On  the 
Saskatchewan  were  found  four  painted  posts  about  five  feet 
high.  The  features  of  a  man  were  roughly  carved  on  each  post 
and  smeared  with  patches  of  vermilion  and  green-colored  paint 
over  the  cheeks,  nose,  and  eyebrows.  These  were  the  images 
of  the  dead.  "When  decorated  with  fresh  paint,  feathers,  strips 
of  leather,  and  a  painted  robe  of  elk,  moose,  or  buffalo-skin, 
these  idols  inspire  the  most  superstitious  awe  among  the  savages, 
who  carve  and  ornament  them  ;  but  the  awe  of  many  becomes 
terror  when  these  images  are  illumined  by  fire  at  night."  4 

1  5  Bancroft,  516.         2  5  ib.,  633.         3  i  Herrera,  160.         4  i  Hind's  Nar.,  402. 

9 


126  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

In  the  town  of  Franklin,  Illinois,  was  found  a  very  rough 
figure  of  an  idol.  It  was  a  stout  stick  of  timber,  hewn  out  so 
as  to  resemble  an  Indian  with  four  faces.1 

Among  the  Senecas  an  image  was  discovered  in  1802,  which 
was  made  of  wood  and  was  nearly  decayed  to  the  ground.  It  had 
the  form  of  a  man,  and  was  whimsically  painted  and  decorated 
with  skins.  The  rotten  condition  of  this  god  occasioned  much 
agitation  among  the  Indians.  Some  were  for  taking  it  into  the 
woods  and  leaving  it  there  with  plenty  of  provisions.  They 
reluctantly  consented  that  it  should  be  destroyed  if  he  who 
destroyed  it  should  take  upon  himself  the  responsibility  of  any 
harm  that  might  threaten  the  nation  in  consequence.  This 
fearful  idol  was  tumbled  into  the  river  by  the  Christians,  while 
the  Indians  gazed  upon  it  with  reverential  awe  as  it  floated 
away.  A  curious  illustration  of  the  idolatrous  superstition  of 
the  natives  of  North  Carolina  is  related  by  Mr.  Haywood.  To 
encourage  the  young  men  to  be  industrious  in  planting  their 
maize  and  pulse,  they  annually  placed  a  kind  of  idol  in  the 
field  dressed  up  exactly  like  an  Indian.  This  image  none  of 
the  young  men  dared  approach,  because  the  old  men  would  not 
allow  it.  They  told  them  that  it  was  a  former  warrior  who 
had  died  many  years  ago,  but  had  now  come  back  to  see  if 
they  worked  well.  The  old  men  sat  around  the  image,  paying 
it  the  most  profound  respect  and  maintaining  silence.2 

The  Northwestern  tribes  had  idols,  before  which  their  re 
ligious  ceremonies  were  performed.  An  idea  prevailed  that 
while  these  rites  were  going  on  a  spirit  entered  into  the  wooden 
idol.3 

Rude  idols  have  been  found  among  most  of  the  tribes  of  the 
Algonkin  race.  Fig.  8  is  a  rough  idol  of  the  Ojibways.  Among 
the  nations  of  Oregon  every  house  had  its  idols.4 

The  New  Mexican  tribes  made  images  of  all  of  their  dead 
and  worshipped  them. 


1  Boies'  De  Kalb  County,  463.      2  Haywood's  Nat.  and  Ab.  Hist.  Ten.,  229. 
3  Dall's  Alaska,  389.  •*  Dunn,  182. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS. 


127 


The  Moquis  had  little  images  made  of  wood  or  clay,  gaudily 
painted  and  gorgeously  decorated  with  feathers.  These  images 
are  suspended  from  the  rafters  of  their  houses  by  a  string,  and 
are  objects  of  worship.  Fig.  9  is  one  of  their  idols.1 


FIG. 


FIG.  9. 


Idols  were  found  in  many  parts  of  Georgia,  although  Bolzius, 
Bartram,  Adair,  and  others  deny,  either  positively  or  inferen- 
tially,  the  existence  of  either  idols  or  images  within  the  limits 
then  occupied  by  the  Georgia  Indians.  Subsequent  investiga 
tions  prove,  by  the  discovered  presence  of  the  images  them 
selves,  that  idol-worship  was  here  practised.  The  Creeks  had 
at  one  of  their  war  towns  a  carved  statue  of  wood,  which  they 
worshipped.2  The  ornamented  posts,  the  wooden  images,  and 
figures  of  men  and  animals  sketched  upon  the  Creek  houses 
have  long  since  perished.  Next  in  the  order  of  durability  are 
small  images  of  burnt  clay,  which  occur  in  various  parts  of  the 


1  Cozzens's  Marvellous  Country,  487;  and  Plate  LXIL  in  Hayden's  Geological 
Survey  of  Colorado.  2  McCulloh's  Ant.  Res.,  107. 


128  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

State.  Three  stone  idols  were  found  in  the  Etowah  valley  of 
Georgia.  Two  of  these  represented  the  male  human  figure  in 
a  sitting  posture  ;  the  third  represented  a  female  figure.  Many 
terra-cotta  images  were  found.1  A  small  shrine  was  found  in 
Chatooga  County  hewn  out  of  the  solid  rock,  and  within  which 
was  seated  on  a  pedestal  an  image.2 

This  removes  the  doubt  we  might  have  of  the  worship  of  idols 
by  some  population  formerly  inhabiting  this  region  of  countiy. 
Mr.  Jones  appears  to  think  these  are  not  the  remains  of  Chero 
kee  art,  but  of  some  people  who  preceded  them.  Mr.  Jones 
mentions  the  existence  of  a  few  idol  pipes,  in  which  a  human 
figure  was  represented  in  a  sitting  posture.  In  their  counte 
nances  the  devotional  idea  was  forcibly  expressed.3 

Among  the  inhabitants  of  that  region  of  country  now  called 
Tennessee,  idolatry  in  a  rude  form  has  left  many  remains  of 
itself  among  their  antiquities.  The  relics,  which  are  somewhat 
unique  and  more  interesting  than  all  others  in  this  region,  are 
stone  and  clay  images  varying  in  height  from  six  inches  to 
two  feet,  and  found  in  great  numbers  by  all  diligent  explorers. 
Images  are  frequently  found  in  the  mounds  of  Tennessee. 
These  images  were  without  doubt  placed  upon  the  mounds  and 
received  worship.4  Evidences  of  sacrificial  offerings  to  these 
images  are  found  in  the  graves. 

The  vast  system  of  idolatry  prevalent  at  the  time  of  the  dis 
covery  among  the  South  American  and  Central  American 
tribes  is  testified  to  by  all  the  early  writers.  The  greater  num 
ber  of  historical  gods  of  the  Peruvians  had  figures  made  of 
them  in  stone  and  wood.  Some  of  these  were  of  enormous 
size.  Near  Hilavi  such  a  statue  was  found  near  the  sculptured 
sepulchres  three  times  a  man's  height,  with  two  monstrous 
figures  beside  it.  In  front  of  each  of  these  idols  was  an  altar. 
It  took  thirty  persons  three  days  to  destroy  these  images.  The 
idol  Rimac  was  a  human  figure  found  in  a  magnificent  temple. 
Deputations  from  different  countries  came  to  worship  this  idol 


Jones,  Antiq.  of  Southern  Indians,  432-33.  a  Ib.,  431.  3  Ib.,  402-3. 

*  Haywood's  Nat.  Ab.  Hist.  Tenn.,  151. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  129 

and  bring  it  offerings.  The  idol  Huaca  Catequella,  which  fore 
told  the  death  of  Inca  Yupanqui,  was  famous  throughout  Peru. 
The  son  of  the  Inca,  out  of  revenge,  destroyed  the  temple  of 
this  idol,  but  the  idol  was  rescued  by  the  priests.  The  idol 
Umina,  with  a  face  half  human,  made  of  an  emerald,  was  deeply 
venerated.1 

The  Purahas,  near  Quito,  worshipped  idols  of  clay  with  a 
human  head,  but  with  the  mouth  at  the  top  of  the  head,  for 
convenience  of  pouring  in  the  blood  of  the  sacrificed  victims.2 

Among  the  Mayas  of  Yucatan  the  family  idols  were  so 
reverenced  that  they  were  considered  the  most  valued  part  of 
the  inheritance  left  by  those  who  died.3  The  Brazilian  tribes 
made  gigantic  idols  of  plaited  palms,  and  also  had  their  family 
idols,  which  often  lay  neglected  in  the  corners  of  their  houses 
until  a  time  of  need  or  war  came.4  The  Tupinambas  had  idols 
in  the  image  of  men  set  up  in  the  woods,  where  the  sorcerers 
offered  sacrifices  to  them  and  consulted  the  spirits  supposed  to 
reside  in  them.5  They  were  their  oracles.  The  missionary 
Cardenas  is  said  to  have  overthrown  more  than  twelve  thousand 
idols  among  the  Brazilian  tribes.6 

Among  the  Patagonians  every  family  had  its  own  house 
hold  wooden  image.7 

Mexico  was  divided  into  wards,  and  each  ward  had  an  idol- 
god  of  its  own,  with  temple  and  temple  service.8 

Every  house  in  Mexico  had  its  idols,  one  near  the  place 
where  they  slept,  and  another  near  the  door. 

Idols  were  so  numerous  on  the  chief  island  in  Lake  Peten 
that  it  took  one  hundred  men  a  whole  day  to  destroy  them.9 

In  Granada  there  was  a  multitude  of  idols  to  which  temples 
were  dedicated.  Their  houses  also  contained  idols.  They 
were  so  devoted  to  idolatry  that  wheresoever  they  went  they 

1  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  172-74.  2  Bollaert,  86. 

3  Landa,  27.  4  i  Southey,  62 1. 

s  Denis,  Bresil,  20.  6  2  Southey,  382. 

7  Nar.  Adventure  and  Beagle,  ed.  1839,  p.  90. 

8  3  Herrera,  194.  93  Bancroft,  483. 


1 3o 


PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 


carried  an  idol.     In  battle  they  would  hold  an  idol  with  one 
arm  and  fight  with  the  other.1 

Closely  connected  with  the  subject  of  idolatry  is  that  of  the 
worship  of  stones.  These  stones  are  sometimes  reverenced  on 
account  of  their  similarity  to  the  human  figure,  or  the  figure  of 
some  animal.  Such  stones  are  called  shingabawassins  by  the 
Ojibways.  They  have  all  the  essential  character  of  idols, 
and  are  supposed  to  be  the  locality  of  some  god.2  Figs.  10 
and  1 1  represent  two  of  these  stones.  Their  similarities  to  the 

FIG.  io.  FIG.  ii. 


human  or  animal  form  are  frequently  noticed,  and  are  generally 
accounted  for  by  a  metamorphosis;  they  almost  always  have 
some  tradition  connected  with  them,  which  makes  them  the 
objects  of  superstitious  fear.  The  Aricaras  have  a  legend  that 
three  stones  in  their  country  that  resemble  a  man,  woman, 
and  dog  are  a  young  Indian  girl  and  her  lover  and  the  dog 
that  followed  them  when  they  left  their  homes  because  the 
girl's  parents  refused  their  consent  to  their  marriage.3  They 
were  worshipped. 

A  curious  case  of  metamorphosis  occurred  near  Scar 
borough's  Hill,  at  Chinook  Point.  Two  rocks  are  shown  there 
which  are  two  metamorphosed  men  who  belonged  to  the  fabu- 

1  4  Herrera,  90.  2  I  Schoolcraft,  94. 

3  i  Lewis  and  Clarke,  107;  Tylor's  Researches,  113. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  131 

lous  age  of  giants.  This  tale  is  told  of  them.  One  of  them  was 
wading  in  the  water  of  Shoalwater  Bay  for  crabs,  when  an 
aquatic  monster  swallowed  him.  His  brother  called  the  giants 
to  his  aid,  and  collected  great  fir-trees,  dried  spruce,  and  other 
trees  wherewith  to  build  a  fire,  and  brought  huge  stones  to  be 
heated.  The  fire  was  made,  the  water  in  the  bay  evaporated. 
The  great  sea-monster  was  killed,  ripped  open,  and  the  man 
released.1  The  giants  were  metamorphosed  into  these  stones 
soon  after.  At  the  mouth  of  .the  Walla  Walla  two  stones, 
human-shaped,  were  thought  to  be  two  Kiuse  girls  metamor 
phosed  by  a  jealous  husband,  and  were  objects  of  worship. 

The  Standing  Rock  is  a  famous  stone  in  the  Indian  country 
on  the  Upper  Missouri.  It  is  a  little  boulder  twenty-eight 
inches  high.  The  Indians  look  on  it  as  sacred,  and  have 
painted  and  adorned  it  with  colored  ribbons  and  tails  of  ani 
mals.  The  following  myth  gives  it  its  sacred  character.  A 
young  Aricara  woman,  wife  of  a  celebrated  brave,  was  spirit- 
broken  because  her  husband  took  a  second  wife.  She  went 
out  on  the  prairie  and  sat  broken-hearted  and  refusing  food 
until  she  died  and  was  turned  into  that  rock.  All  of  the  women 
of  the  tribes  located  thereabout  repair  to  this  rock  and  make 
their  offerings  whenever  they  are  afflicted  with  domestic  diffi 
culties.2 

In  a  cavern  on  the  banks  of  the  Kickapoo  there  is  a  gigantic 
mass  of  stone  presenting  the  appearance  of  a  human  figure. 
The  Indians  say  that  it  is  a  metamorphosed  Indian  woman, 
who,  having  received  several  wounds  in  battle,  was  left,  and 
nearly  perished  of  hunger.  She  was  converted  into  this  mon 
ument,  which  they  hold  in  great  fear,  and  never  pass  without 
offering  sacrifices  to  it.  They  say  it  formerly  had  the  power  of 
killing  those  that  approached  it.3 

Schoolcraft  tells  the  following  tradition  of  metamorphosis : 
"An  Indian,  while  passing  across  Winnebago  Lake  on  a  beau 
tiful  summer  day,  espied  at  a  distance  in  the  lake  before  him  a 

1  Swan's  Washington  Territory,  69.  2  Beach,  388.  3  i  Keating,  251. 


1 32  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

beautiful  female  form  standing  in  the  water.  Her  eyes  shone 
with  a  brilliancy  that  could  not  be  endured,  and  she  held  in 
her  hand  a  lump  of  glittering  gold.  He  immediately  paddled 
toward  the  attractive  object,  but  as  he  came  near  he  could 
perceive  that  it  was  gradually  altering  as  to  its  shape  and  com 
plexion  ;  her  eyes  no  longer  shone  with  brilliancy,  her  face  lost 
the  hectic  glow  of  life,  her  arms  imperceptibly  disappeared,  and 
when  he  came  to  the  spot  where  she  stood,  it  was  a  monument 
of  stone  having  a  human  face,  with  the  fins  and  tail  of  a  fish. 
He  sat  a  long  while  in  amazement,  fearful  either  to  touch  the 
superhuman  object  or  go  away  and  leave  it.  At  length,  having 
made  an  offering  of  the  incense  of  tobacco,  and  addressed  it  as 
the  guardian  angel  of  his  country,  he  ventured  to  lay  his  hand 
upon  the  statue  to  lift  it  into  his  canoe,  when  it  disappeared."  1 

The  Laches  worshipped  every  stone  as  a  god,  and  said  they 
had  all  been  men,  and  all  men  were  converted  into  stones  after 
death,  and  the  day  was  coming  when  all  stones  would  be  raised 
as  men.  The  shadows  of  stones  were  the  manifestation  of  the 
gods  in  them.2  The  inhabitants  of  Istlavacan  had  a  rock  three 
feet  high  and  one  foot  thick,  supposed  to  be  a  distorted  human 
face,  which  they  reverenced.3 

Many  stones  of  the  shape  of  men  and  women,  found  in  Peru, 
are,  according  to  tradition,  beings  metamorphosed.  Arriaga 
mentions  metamorphoses  of  men  to  stones,  and  the  worship  of 
these  stones. 

How  vividly  this  recalls  to  our  minds  the  myth  of  Deucalion 
and  the  derivation  of  the  Greek  word  /««£  (people),  the  primi 
tive  meaning  of  which  was  "  stones" !  The  famous  Oneida 
stone  from  which  the  Oneidas  claim  descent,  is  an  illustration 
of  mythical  descent  from  stones.  Mr.  Schoolcraft  thinks  they 
were  prompted  to  this  absurdity  by  the  use  of  metaphorical 
language ;  but  I  am  convinced  that  cases  of  this  kind  have 
arisen  from  a  mythical  metamorphosis.  Much  of  the  stone- 


1  Schoolcraft's  Nar.  Journal,  406.  2  Piedrahita,  bk.  I,  ch.  ii. 

3  3  Bancroft,  482. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  133 

worship  has  arisen  in  this  way,  as  we  have  seen  by  the  myths 
I  have  cited  in  reference  to  these  stones.  If  we  remember  that 
a  mythical  character  is  often  the  subject  of  such  a  metamor 
phosis,  and  such  mythical  character  may  have  been  one  from 
whom  a  tribe  claims  descent,  then  we  have  all  the  premises  for 
such  a  conclusion  as  the  Oneidas  arrived  at.  This  stone  be 
came  a  place  for  national  sacrifice.1  The  Dacotahs  claimed 
descent  from  a  stone,  and  offered  sacrifices  to  it,  calling  it 
grandfather.  They  thought  the  spirit  of  their  ancestor  was 
present  in  this  stone,  which  is  their  altar  for  national  sacrifices. 
The  Ojibways  had  such  stones,  which  they  called  grandfather. 

Animation  was  ascribed  to  all  stones  that  were  objects  of 
worship.  In  cases  of  supposed  metamorphosis,  the  spirit  re 
mained  in  the  stone  notwithstanding  the  change. 

Many  of  the  rocks  which  presented  any  similarity  to  man  or 
animal  were  supposed  to  be  inhabited  by  spirits,  and  were  held 
in  great  awe  by  the  Indians,  whether  a  metamorphosis  was  as 
cribed  to  them  or  not.  Spirits  transmigrated  into  stones,  and 
this  made  them  objects  of  worship. 

A  curious  illustration  of  such  transmigration  is  found  among 
the  Peruvians.  A  certain  stone  supposed  to  be  animated  by  a 
spirit,  which  had  commanded  resistance  to  the  Inca  Rocca, 
was  ordered  thrown  from  the  top  of  a  mountain  by  this  Inca, 
when  a  parrot  flew  out  of  it  and  entered  another  stone,  which 
the  Indians  still  point  out  and  worship.2 

In  Central  America,  when  a  lord  died,  a  stone  was  put  into 
his  mouth  to  receive  his  soul.3 

The  Mexicans  buried  a  small  green  stone  with  the  dead,  and 
this  was  called  the  principle  of  his  life,  and  into  it  the  soul  was 
thought  to  pass. 

The  natives  of  Mizteca  worshipped  an  emerald  which  was 
inhabited  by  a  spirit  which  had  transmigrated  thither.  In  Es- 
meraldas  there  was  a  great  emerald  which  belonged  to  the  lord 
of  Manta.  It  contained  a  powerful  spirit,  and  was  an  object  of 

1  Schoolcraft's  Iroquois,  46-47.  2  Montesinos,  147.  3  Ximenez,  21 1. 


I34  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

great  veneration.  On  certain  occasions  it  was  displayed  and 
worshipped.  It  cured  diseases,  and  pilgrimages  were  made 
from  all  parts,  of  those  afflicted,  to  sacrifice  and  pray  to  the 
stone.1 

It  would  not  be  inconsistent  for  peoples  holding  such  ideas 
to  ascribe  vitality  and  power  of  activity  to  stones;  and  such  is 
the  fact.  There  were  many  traditions  among  the  Mexicans 
about  their  famous  stone,  which  was  selected  for  a  sacrificial 
stone.  On  its  way  to  Mexico,  notwithstanding  all  the  honors 
paid  it,  it  broke  through  the  causeway,  and  carried  the  high- 
priest  and  many  others  to  the  bottom  of  the  lake.  According 
to  tradition,  it  spoke  frequently  on  the  journey  to  that  city.2 

Among  the  Brazilians,  the  most  popular  charms  worn  by  the 
Indians  are  stones  called  muira-kitans,  which  appear  to  be 
stones  cut  from  rocks  at  the  bottom  of  lakes.  There  is  a  tra 
dition  that  they  were  alive  in  the  lake,  and  the  women,  by 
giving  them  a  drop  of  their  blood,  could  catch  them.3 

Among  the  natives  of  the  West  Indies  food  was  regularly 
offered  to  certain  stones  that  were  objects  of  worship,  and  they 
supposed  the  food  was  eaten  when  it  disappeared. 

The  Ojibways  thought  some  of  the  stones  that  were  wor 
shipped  by  them  moved  about  from  place  to  place.4 

The  following  story  of  a  Northern  Indian  illustrates  the  sup 
posed  vitality  of  stones  and  the  worship  paid  them  on  this 
account.  Opposite  La  Pointe  was  an  isolated  boulder,  which 
was  a  huge  erratic  rock.  Otamigan,  an  Indian  well  known 
among  the  whites,  sacrificed  to  this  stone,  and  never  passed  it 
without  laying  an  offering  of  tobacco  on  it.  He  often  went 
to  pay  worship  to  it.  His  attention  was  attracted  to  it  in  the 
following  way.  He  sat  down  to  rest  himself  at  one  time  op 
posite  this  rock,  and  as  he  was  looking  at  it  the  rock  oscillated, 
made  a  bow,  and  advanced  toward  him.  This  transient  giddi 
ness  of  Otamigan  produced  the  greatest  veneration  in  his  mind 


1  Cieza,  183-84.  2  5  Bancroft,  471. 

3  Smith's  Brazil,  581-82.  4  McKenny's  Tour,  402. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  135 

for  this  rock,  and  he  considered  it  thereafter  as  his  protecting 
god.1 

Among  the  Ojibways,  in  the  copper  region,  the  erratic  blocks 
of  that  ore  were  considered  highly  mysterious,  and  were  raised 
to  the  dignity  of  idols.  Mr.  Kohl  tells  a  story  of  an  Ojibway 
chief  who  was  willing  to  give  him  his  daughter,  or  anything 
else  he  had,  but  a  mass  of  copper  in  a  forest,  which  had  been 
his  and  his  ancestors'  protective  genius.  Through  it  he  said  he 
had  won  victories  in  battle,  preserved  his  health,  and  been  suc 
cessful  in  the  hunt.  At  last  he  consented  to  part  with  it,  but 
he  sacrificed  the  price  given  to  his  guardian  spirit,  after  having 
made  as  sharp  a  bargain  as  he  could,  and  laid  five  pounds  of 
tobacco  in  its  place  in  the  forest.2  It  was  the  spirit  that  in 
habited  this  lump  of  copper  that  gave  it  its  significance,  and 
when  the  metal  was  removed  from  its  locality  it  lost  its  sacred 
character,  and  the  tobacco  was  supposed  to  satisfy  the  spirit 
lurking  about  the  place. 

Says  Allouez,  "  The  Ottawas  often  find  at  the  bottom  of 
Lake  Superior  pieces  of  pure  copper  weighing  from  ten  to 
twenty  pounds.  I  have  often  seen  them  in  the  hands  of  the 
savages,  and,  as  they  are  superstitious,  they  look  upon  them  as 
so  many  divinities.  For  this  reason  they  preserve  these  pieces 
of  copper  wrapped  up  among  their  most  precious  movables. 
There  are  some  who  have  preserved  them  for  more  than  fifty 
years.  Others  have  had  them  in  their  families  from  time  im 
memorial,  and  cherish  them  as  household  gods.  For  some 
time  there  was  visible  a  great  rock  entirely  of  copper,  the  top 
of  which  projected  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  This  gave 
occasion  to  by-passers  to  go  and  cut  off  pieces  from  it.  Never 
theless,  when  I  passed  by  that  place,  nothing  could  be  seen  of 
it.  I  believe  that  the  storms,  which  here  are  very  frequent  and 
similar  to  those  on  the  sea,  have  covered  this  rock  with  sand. 
Our  savages  wanted  to  persuade  me  that  it  was  a  divinity,  and 
had  disappeared  for  some  reason  which  they  did  not  state." 

1  Kohl's  Kitchi-Gami,  59.  a  Ib.,  62-64. 


136  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

We  find  among  the  inhabitants  of  both  hemispheres  at  the 
first  dawn  of  civilization  a  peculiar  predilection  for  stones  which, 
on  account  of  some  peculiarity  of  color  or  natural  form,  are 
looked  upon  with  superstition.  West  of  Rock  River  a  stone 
was  found  which  the  Indians  venerated,  and  had  adorned  with 
paint  and  a  feather.  It  was  a  piece  of  syenite  that  differed  from 
all  the  rocks  in  this  vicinity.  They  made  offerings  to  it.1  Mr. 
Keating  mentions  many  other  such  places,  all  objects  of  wor 
ship.  The  White  Dog  gens  of  the  Ojibways  resided  near  a 
rock,  which  on  account  of  its  form  was  an  object  of  great  super 
stition  to  them.2 

The  Dacotahs  propitiated  those  spirits  which  were  supposed 
to  be  embodied  in  oval-shaped  stones  by  sacrifices  of  tobacco 
and  other  trifling  articles.3  When  a  Dacotah  is  troubled  in 
spirit  and  desires  to  be  delivered  from  real  or  imaginary  danger, 
he  will  select  a  stone  that  is  round  and  portable,  and,  placing  it 
in  a  spot  free  from  grass  and  underbrush,  he  will  streak  it  with 
red  paint,  and,  offering  to  it  some  feathers,  he  will  pray  to  it  for 
help.4  The  Ojibways  regard  round  stones  with  awe.  They 
will  pick  them  up,  paint  them,  clear  away  the  grass,  make  an 
offering,  and  then  pray  the  stone  to  deliver  them  from  danger.5 
The  Red  Pipe-Stone  quarry  is  a  famous  place  to  inspire  the 
Indians  with  religious  feelings.  There  are  five  large  erratic 
boulders  near  here,  where  not  a  blade  of  grass  is  broken  or 
bent  by  the  feet  of  man.  The  Indians  venerate  these  so  rev 
erently  that  they  stand  at  a  distance  and  offer  tobacco  by  throw 
ing  it  toward  these  boulders,  and  then  they  solicit  permission 
of  the  spirits  supposed  to  reside  here  to  carry  away  some  of 
the  stone  :6  they  would  not  dare  carry  away  any  of  it  without 
these  propitiatory  offerings.  The  Northwestern  Indians  had 
stones  from  which  they  asked  rain  or  wind,  or  a  cessation  of 
it.7  About  fifty-five  miles  above  Fort  Gratiot  was  the  White 
Rock,  an  enormous  detached  mass  of  transition  limestone 

1  I  Keating,  298.  22  ib.,  149.  3  i  Minn.  Hist.  Coll. ,461. 

*  Neill's  Minnesota,  60.         53  Schoolcraft,  229.  6  2  Catlin,  203. 

7  i  Brown's  Races,  59. 


DOCTRINE    OF  SPIRITS.  137 

standing  in  the  lake  at  a  distance  of  half  a  mile  from  the  shore. 
The  White  Rock  is  an  object  which  had  attracted  the  early 
notice  of  the  Indians,  who  are  the  first  to  observe  the  noncon 
formities  in  the  appearances  of  a  country.  And  it  continues 
to  be  one  of  the  places  at  which  offerings  are  made.  These 
tributary  acknowledgments  are  generally  useless  articles.  There 
does  not  appear  to  be  any  obligation  upon  individuals  to  make 
them,  or  to  renew  them  at  any  regular  periods.1 

At  the  entrance  to  Lake  Superior  there  is  a  high  rock  in  the 
shape  of  a  man,  which  the  Indians  call  the  master  of  life.  Here 
they  make  their  offerings  by  throwing  tobacco  into  the  water. 
By  this  they  intend  to  make  an  acknowledgment  to  the  rock 
for  the  blessings  they  enjoy.2 

Near  Peoria  there  is  a  sacred  stone  resembling  the  figure  of 
a  man.  The  Indians  who  pass  by  pay  their  adorations  to  it, 
and  believe  it  has  an  influence  over  their  fortunes.3  One  on 
Little  Manitou  Creek  is  supposed  to  resemble  the  bust  of  a 
man  whose  head  is  decorated  with  the  horns  of  a  stag.  On 
Stone  Idol  Creek,  some  few  miles  from  the  Missouri,  there  are 
two  other  stones  resembling  the  human  form,  and  a  third  like 
that  of  a  dog,  all  of  which  are  objects  of  veneration.  Another, 
near  Big  Manitou  Creek,  is  inlaid  with  flints  of  various  colors 
and  covered  with  figures  of  animals.  Stones  were  also  oracles. 
Any  rock  or  stone  of  extraordinary  appearance  becomes  the 
object  of  general  veneration.4 

In  the  country  of  the  Mandans  there  is  a  smooth,  porous 
mineral  body  twenty  feet  in  circumference,  called  the  Great 
Medicine  Stone.  To  this  stone  a  deputation  is  sent  every  spring, 
who,  after  smoking  and  presenting  the  pipe  before  it,  retire  to 
an  adjacent  wood  and  return  in  the  morning  to  read  the  des 
tinies  of  the  nation,  which  they  imagine  they  see  written  there 
on  in  certain  marks.5 

1  Schoolcraft's  Nar.  Journal,  87,  seq.  2  Long's  Voyages,  43. 

3  Pittman's  European  Settlements,  42. 

4  i  Hind,  364  ;  2  Beltrami,  175  ;  KerchevaPs  Valley  of  Va.,  48. 
53  Warden's  U.  S.,  581. 


I38  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

In  Guatemala  a  stone  was  the  oracle  through  which  a  god 
gave  his  decision  to  the  people  after  having  been  consulted  by 
the  judges.  To  the  westward  of  Patinamit  there  was  a  mound 
that  commanded  the  city.  On  it  stood  a  round  small  building 
six  feet  high,  in  the  middle  of  which  was  a  pedestal  formed  of  a 
shining  substance  resembling  glass.  Seated  around  this  build 
ing,  the  judges  heard  and  decided  upon  the  causes  brought 
before  them;  before  executing  a  sentence,  however,  it  was  neces 
sary  to  have  it  confirmed  by  an  oracle,  for  which  purpose  three 
of  the  judges  quitted  their  seats,  and  proceeded  to  a  deep 
ravine,  where  there  was  a  place  of  worship,  wherein  was  placed 
a  black,  transparent  stone.  On  the  surface  of  this  tablet  the 
deity  was  supposed  to  give  a  representation  of  the  fate  that 
awaited  the  criminal.  If  the  decision  of  the  judges  was  ap 
proved,  the  sentence  was  immediately  inflicted.  If  nothing 
appeared  on  the  stone,  the  accused  was  set  at  liberty.  This 
oracle  was  also  consulted  in  the  affairs  of  war.1 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  stones  were  worshipped  because 
they  were  supposed  to  be  animated  by  spirits,  and  the  worship 
was  idolatrous  in  its  nature.  Before  leaving  the  subject  of 
idolatry,  let  us  notice  its  use  in  sorcery.  All  of  the  tribes  of 
both  continents  use  idolatry  in  their  sorcery.  When  they 
wish  to  injure  any  one,  they  make  an  image  of  the  person. 
They  then  injure  this  image,  expecting  the  person  to  suffer  as 
acutely  as  though  the  injury  was  inflicted  on  his  body.  They 
sometimes  burn  these  images,  and  then  they  expect  the  death 
of  the  person.  They  pretend  to  cure  disease  by  means  of  the 
same  superstition  ;  for,  having  made  an  effigy  of  the  supposed 
evil  spirit  producing  the  disease,  generally  thought  to  be  an 
animal,  they  will  destroy  this  image,  and  thereby  expect  to  de 
stroy  the  disease.2 

When  they  want  to  overcome  any  one  who  resists  their  love, 
they  make  an  image  of  the  person,  and  into  this  image  they 
introduce  love-powders.  If  the  image  has  a  lock  of  hair  or 

1  Juaro's  Guatemala,  384.  2  Kohl,  282. 


DOCTRINE   OF  SPIRITS,  139 

any  part  of  the  person  desired  to  be  affected  attached  to  it, 
these  powders  will  work  their  charm  on  the  person  as  effectually 
as  if  really  taken  by  such  person.1 

The  sorcerers  are  often  told  to  transfer  from  the  sick  person 
to  some  other,  who  is  the  patient's  enemy,  the  disease  they  are 
called  to  cure.  This  they  can  always  do  when  they  can  get  an 
image  of  that  person.2 

The  same  superstition  is  resorted  to  in  times  of  famine,  to 
bring  animals  within  the  power  of  the  hunter.  A  little  image 
is  made  to  represent  the  animal  which  they  wish  to  obtain  in 
the  hunt ;  then  the  part  representing  the  heart  is  punctured 
with  a  sharp  instrument.  After  this  ceremony  they  will  start 
out  with  full  confidence  of  success.3  Sometimes  simply  a  grass 
or  cloth  image  of  the  animal  is  made  and  hung  up  in  his  wig 
wam.  After  repeating  an  incantation  he  shoots  at  the  image, 
and  if  the  arrow  enters  it  he  will  succeed  in  killing  the  animal.4 

To  prove  the  universality  of  this  curious  superstition  among 
all  the  tribes,  I  will  select  a  few  authorities.  Says  Charlevoix, 
"Amongst  the  Illinois  and  almost  all  the  other  nations,  they 
make  small  figures  to  represent  those  whose  days  they  have  a 
mind  to  shorten,  and  which  they  stab  to  the  heart.  At  other 
times  they  take  a  stone,  and  by  means  of  certain  invoca 
tions  they  pretend  to  form  such  another  in  the  heart  of  their 
enemy."  5 

The  Ojibways  believe  that  by  drawing  the  figure  of  any  per 
son  in  sand  or  ashes,  or  on  clay,  or  by  considering  any  object 
as  the  figure  of  a  person,  and  then  pricking  it  with  a  sharp 
stick,  or  other  substance,  or  doing  in  any  other  manner  that 
which  done  to  a  living  body  would  cause  pain  or  injury,  the 
individual  represented,  or  supposed  to  be  represented,  will 
suffer  accordingly.6 

The  Malemutes  of  the  Northwest  made  images  to  represent 
children  which  they  wished  to  have,  and  fondled  the  idol  as  if 

1  Kohl,  396-97.  2  2  Keating,  159. 

3  Tanner's  Narrative,  174.  4  i  Schoolcraft,  372. 

5  2  Charlevoix,  1 66.  6  Henry's  Captivity. 


1 40  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

it  was  a  real  child.1     They  expected  to  obtain  children  by  this 
means. 

Another  form  of  this  superstition  about  the  representation  of 
any  person  or  thing  was  shown  in  their  fear  of  having  their 
photographs  taken.  They  refused  to  risk  their  lives  before  a 
photographic  apparatus.  They  said  those  who  had  their  pho 
tograph  had  their  spirit,  and  they  did  not  wish  this  to  pass  into 
the  keeping  of  others  who  could  torment  it  at  pleasure.2  The 
Yanktons  accused  Catlin  of  producing  a  great  scarcity  of  buf 
falo  by  putting  a  great  many  of  them  in  his  book.3  They  re 
fused  at  first  to  be  painted  by  him,  on  account  of  the  same 
superstition.  These  paintings  were  supposed  to  have  their  life 
in  them.  He  had  great  difficulty  in  overcoming  this  supersti 
tion.  The  Araucanians  would  not  allow  their  portraits  to  be 
taken,  lest  the  possessor  might  obtain  some  magical  influence 
over  them.  I  will  not  dwell  longer  on  these  fetichistic  concep 
tions  in  this  chapter,  but  will  treat  of  the  subject  more  fully  in 
the  next. 


1  i  Bancroft,  82.  2  I  ib.,  245. 

3  2  Catlin's  Illustrations,  194. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

FETICHISTIC   SUPERSTITIONS. 

Fetichism — Scalping  fetichistic  in  conception — Inherence  of  spiritual  force — 
Cannibalism  fetichistic  and  a  religious  act — Eating  images  of  gods  a  rite  similar 
to  the  eucharistic — Superstitious  fears  about  pronouncing  the  names  of  the 
dead — Tattooing  fetichistic — Amulets — Primitive  ornamentation  fetichistic. 

THE  fetichism  of  primitive  peoples  is  not  a  meaningless 
superstition,  as  generally  represented,  but  has  grown  from  the 
roots  of  their  religious  belief.  A  fetich  is  not  the  inanimate, 
powerless,  material  thing  to  them  that  it  is  to  us,  but  is  redo 
lent  with  life.  The  idol  is  filled  with  a  spirit;  it  speaks  in 
the  oracle.  So  the  fetich,  whether  a  medicine-bag,  or  image, 
or  claw  of  beast  or  bird,  is  filled  with  a  spirit.  This  imaginary 
animation  gives  fetichism  its  power  over  the  savage  mind.  The 
fetichistic  superstition  has  prolonged  its  life  to  our  day.  It 
survives  in  amulets,  charms,  talismans,  seal-rings,  heraldry. 
Among  early  peoples  it  originated  their  ornamentation  with 
feathers,  teeth,  shells,  animal  skins,  and  similar  articles  of  per 
sonal  adornment,  including  tattooing.  Idolatry  and  fetichism 
are  closely  akin,  but  an  idol  is  not,  strictly  speaking,  a  fetich  ; 
it  is  always  an  object  of  worship,  whereas  fetiches  are  not 
always  objects  of  worship,  but  are  often  connected  with  sorcery. 
They  are  generally  amuletic  in  their  character.  Their  sup 
posed  supernatural  power  is  used  to  ward  off  evil  from  their 
owners  or  bring  them  good  fortune ;  they  are  also  used  to 
bring  evil  upon  others.  They  are  generally  regarded  as  sub 
ject  to  the  will  and  control  of  their  owners,  and  are,  therefore, 
generally  not  objects  of  such  reverence  as  inspires  worship. 
The  doctrine  of  fetiches  has  led  to  many  superstitions  that  may 
properly  be  called  fetichistic,  and  a  few  of  these  will  explain 

10  141 


142  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

the  origin  of  the  fetichistic  sentiment.  Among  these  were  scalp 
ing  and  the  taking  and  preservation  of  the  heads  of  enemies  by 
so  many  primitive  peoples.  It  was  thought  that  the  posses 
sion  of  any  part  of  an  enemy  placed  that  enemy  in  the  power 
of  the  possessor.  This  superstition  seems  to  be  based  upon 
the  belief  that  each  portion  of  any  animate  body,  or  inanimate 
body  supposed  to  be  animate,  had  also  a  portion  of  the  spirit 
that  appertained  to  the  whole.  Hence,  whoever  possessed  a 
oart  of  the  material  substance  possessed  also  a  portion  of  the 
Spiritual,  and  although  it  was  only  a  portion,  generally  a  very 
small  part,  yet  it  gave  the  possessor  a  control  over  the  whole, 
which  he  would  never  have  succeeded  in  getting  in  an  ordi 
nary  way.  This  explains  the  whole  system  of  sorcery  as  prac 
tised  among  ancient  peoples,  and  all  its  kindred  superstitions. 
Hence  arose  a  desire  to  prevent  any  part  of  the  body  from 
getting  into  the  possession  and  under  the  control  of  others. 
For  this  reason  sorcerers  and  witches  were  anxious  to  get  some 
part  of  the  person  uponwhorri  they  wished  to  work  their  spells, 
and  enemies  were  very  anxious  to  get  some  part  of  their  enemy 
into  their  possession.  Friends  were  just  as  anxious  to  preserve 
them,  and  would  risk  their  lives  to  prevent  the  scalp  of  a  tribes 
man  from  falling  into  the  enemy's  hands.  Individuals  would 
conceal  their  nail-parings  and  hair,  and  even  their  saliva,  with 
superstitious  fear  of  its  falling  into  the  hands  of  the  unfriendly. 
Even  the  clothes  of  a  person  were  supposed  to  be  permeated  by 
his  spiritual  life.  This  belief  in  the  inherence  of  spiritual  life 
is  shown  in  the  fact  that,  in  washing  their  soiled  clothes,  many 
of  the  tribes  were  very  careful  to  dispose  of  the  water  so  that 
no  one  could  obtain  any  of  it.  This  superstition  was  akin  to 
the  fetichistic,  where  a  part  of  the  soul  is  thought  to  inhere  in 
every  part  of  the  body  and  in  everything  the  body  touched. 

Quite  a  curious  illustration  of  their  belief  on  this  subject  is 
found  in  the  marriage  of  the  fishing-nets.  The  Hurons  mar 
ried  their  nets  every  year  to  young  girls  of  the  tribe,  with  much 
more  formality  than  that  observed  in  human  wedlock.  The 
Algonkins  of  the  Ottawa  had  the  same  ceremony  yearly,  in  the 


FETICHISTIC  SUPERSTITIONS.  143 

middle  of  March,  and,  as  it  was  difficult  to  find  virgins,  mere 
children  were  chosen.  The  net  was  held  between  them,  and 
its  spirit  was  harangued.  They  said  the  spirit  of  the  net  ap 
peared  to  them  when  it  had  any  complaint  to  make.  The 
animation  ascribed  to  these  nets  was  due  beyond  doubt  to  the 
spiritual  substance  of  the  fish  which  was  thought  to  inhere  in 
them.  This  whole  ceremony  is  meaningless,  except  by  this 
inherence  or  transmigration  of  spiritual  life,  which  explains  it. 

Preserving  parts  of  dead  enemies  was  fetichistic  in  concep 
tion.  The  Omaguas  cut  off  the  heads  of  their  enemies  and 
preserved  them  in  their  houses.  The  teeth  they  strung  and 
wore  as  necklaces.1  The  Mundrucus  of  Brazil  kept  the  heads 
of  slain  enemies.  They  had  a  preparatory  process  for  preserv 
ing  them.  The  custom  of  wearing  the  skulls  of  slain  enemies 
as  fetiches  was  the  origin  of  trepanning.  Those  trepanned 
skulls  were  found  in  Peru,  and  also  among  the  Northern  tribes. 
This  custom  is  very  prevalent  among  the  barbarous  tribes  on 
the  other  continent,  but  among  the  Americans  scalping  appears 
to  have  generally  superseded  it;  yet  upon  the  monuments  of 
the  Mexican  nations  the  entire  skull  is  seen  strung  to  the  belts 
of  many  of  the  heroes  whose  achievements  are  pictured  thereon. 

Scalping  was  universal  among  the  Northern  tribes,  and  was 
fetichistic  in  origin.  The  Osages  planted  on  their  graves  a 
pole  with  an  enemy's  scalp  hanging  to  the  top.  Their  notion 
was  that  by  doing  this  the  spirit  of  the  victim  became  sub 
jected  to  the  spirit  of  the  buried  warrior.2  Mr.  Brown  thinks 
that  scalping  has  superseded  the  taking  of  the  whole  head,  on 
account  of  the  difficulty  of  carrying  the  entire  head.3  This 
view  is  confirmed  by  the  fact  that  many  tribes  scalped  the  heads 
of  those  taken  in  war  only  when  they  travelled  a  great  distance. 
Sorcerers  pretended  to  hold  converse  with  the  departed  spirit 
through  the  scalp  of  the  deceased,4 

The  Indians  of  the  Algonkin  stock  living  around  the  Great 


1  3  Southey,  703.  2  I  Tylor,  460. 

3  i  Brown's  Races,  67.  •*  I  Bancroft,  569. 


144  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Lakes,  in  addition  to  the  practice  of  scalping,  cut  fingers,  arms, 
and  other  limbs  from  their  enemies,  which  they  keep  as  long 
as  they  can,  and  toward  which  they  show  as  strong  a  spirit  of 
revenge  as  though  the  whole  person  was  present  and  in  life.1 
The  Californians  do  not  appear  to  scalp  enemies,  but  the  head, 
hands,  or  feet  are  preserved  as  trophies.2  The  savages  of  New 
Granada  wore  the  teeth  of  slain  enemies  about  their  necks. 

The  use  of  parts  of  the  human  body  for  fetichistic  purposes 
is  common.  Mr.  Spencer  says  the  primitive  idea  that  any 
property  characterizing  an  aggregate  inheres  in  all  parts  of  it, 
implies  a  corollary  from  this  belief.  The  soul  present  in  the 
body  of  a  dead  man  preserved  entire  is  also  present  in  pre 
served  parts  of  his  body:  hence  the  faith  in  relics.  The  Crees 
carried  bones  and  hair  of  dead  persons  about  for  three  years. 
Several  Guiana  tribes  had  their  cleaned  bones  distributed 
among  the  relatives  after  death.  The  Eskimos,  when  a  whaler 
died,  cut  his  body  into  small  pieces  and  distributed  them 
among  his  fellow-craftsmen.  These  were  dried  and  preserved 
as  fetiches ;  they  rubbed  the  points  of  their  lances  upon  them 
to  bring  them  luck.3  Such  a  weapon  would  reach  a  mortal 
spot  in  a  whale  where  another  would  fail.  The  Caribs  thought 
that  the  bones  of  the  dead  were  the  abiding-place  of  his  soul. 
They  took  bones  of  the  dead  from  the  grave  and  carefully 
wrapped  them  in  cotton,  and  thought  they  could  answer  ques 
tions.  The  Mexicans  had  a  grand  master  of  such  relics.4 
They  thought  the  left  arm  and  hand  of  a  woman  who  had 
died  in  childbed  had  special  talismanic  virtue.5 

The  fear  that  some  part  of  the  body  might  be  used  by  others 
in  sorcery  and  witchcraft  led  to  the  custom  of  preserving  all  of 
its  parts  during  life  and  also  after  death,  lest  it  should  get  into 
the  possession  of  others.  This  superstition  will  be  referred 
to  again  in  burial  customs. 

Cannibalism  was  fetichistic  in  its  nature,  and  originated  in 

;  Kohl,  345-46.  3  Ib.,  344.  3  i  Bancroft,  76. 

*  2  ib.,  202.  s  2  ib.,  269. 


FETICHISTIC  SUPERSTITIONS.  145 

the  same  superstitious  idea  that  instigated  scalping  and  cutting 
off  the  heads  and  limbs  of  enemies.  Its  prevalence  among  all 
primitive  peoples  is  probable. 

Among  the  Northern  tribes  of  Indians  there  are  evidences  of 
a  limited  cannibalism.  It  was  practised  at  religious  festivals  to 
some  extent,  and  I  am  fully  persuaded,  after  investigating  the 
subject  pretty  thoroughly,  that  the  practice,  except  in  a  few 
isolated  cases,  was  based  upon  religious  superstition.  All 
primitive  peoples  thought  that  by  eating  anything  animate  they 
became  endowed  with  the  qualities  of  the  thing  eaten.  This 
superstition  was  the  result  of  their  theories  of  transmigration. 
We  have  the  very  best  evidence  that  in  those  cases  where  the 
dead  have  been  buried  in  the  stomachs  of  their  living  relatives, 
which  will  be  noticed  in  the  chapter  on  burial,  the  superstitious 
idea  of  the  transmigration  of  the  soul  into  their  bodies  urged 
them  to  the  act. 

Mr.  Keating  says  the  Ojibways,  the  Miamis,  the  Potawato- 
mies,  and  all  the  other  Algonkin  tribes  are  cannibals.  The 
most  frequent  cause  of  cannibalism  among  them  is  their  belief 
that  by  eating  an  enemy  they  acquire  a  charm  that  makes 
them  irresistible.  There  is  a  common  superstition  with  them 
that  he  who  tastes  of  the  body  of  a  brave  man  acquires  a  part  ., 
of  his  valor,  and  if  he  can  eat  of  his  heart,  the  centre  of  all 
courage,  his  share  of  bravery  is  greater.  Mr.  Barron  saw  the 
Potawatomies  feast  on  the  bodies  of  white  men  and  Cherokees, 
instigated  by  the  same  superstition.  Captain  Wells,  who  was 
killed  in  the  vicinity  of  Chicago  in  1812,  and  was  celebrated 
for  his  valor  among  the  Indian  tribes,  was  divided  into  many 
parts  and  sent  to  all  the  allied  tribes,  that  all  might  have  an 
opportunity  to  get  a  taste  of  the  courageous  white  man.1  The 
Thlinkeets  devoured  those  killed  in  battle,  in  the  belief  that  the 
bravery  of  the  victim  thereby  enters  into  the  nature  of  the  par 
takers.2  The  Californian  tribes  ate  human  flesh,  not  as  food, 
nor  for  the  purpose  of  wreaking  vengeance  on,  or  showing 

1  I  Keating,  101-3.  2  :  Bancroft,  106. 


146  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

hate  to,  a  dead  adversary,  but  because  they  thought  by  eating 
part  of  a  brave  man  they  absorbed  a  portion  of  his  courage.1 
Mr.  Ball  says  some  of  the  natives  of  Alaska  practise  cannibal 
ism,  but  it  was  not  instigated  by  starvation.2 

Traces  of  cannibalism  are  found  among  all  the  tribes  of 
America.  Mr.  Parkman  mentions  a  family  of  the  Miamis 
whose  duty  it  was  to  devour  the  bodies  of  prisoners.  The  act 
had  a  religious  character,  and  was  attended  with  ceremonial 
observances.  The  Hurons  had  cannibal  feasts,  and  when  re 
monstrated  with  by  the  Jesuit  priests  they  threw  a  hand  of  a 
victim  in  at  their  door.  The  Mohawks  ate  those  captured  in 
war:  the  chiefs  ate  the  head  and  heart,  the  common  people 
the  arms  and  i  trunks.  Among  the  Blackfeet,  when  war  is  de 
clared  against  other  nations,  the  manner  of  expressing  it  is, 
"  to  hang  the  kettle  on  the  fire,"  which  has  its  origin  in  the 
barbarous  custom  of  eating  the  prisoners  and  those  that  were 
slain,  after  they  had  boiled  them.  Traces  of  cannibalism  are 
found  among  the  Winnebagoes,  Sauks,  and  Comanches.3 

Pyrlaeus  says  "the  Five  Nations  formerly  did  eat  human 
flesh ;  they  at  one  time  ate  up  a  whole  body  of  the  French 
king's  soldiers."4 

Heckewelder  mentions  the  same  custom  among  the  Iroquois. 
He  says,  "  Aged  French  Canadians  have  told  me,  many  years 
since,  while  I  was  at  Detroit,  that  they  had  frequently  seen  the 
Iroquois  eat  the  flesh  of  those  who  had  been  slain  in  battle, 
and  that  this  was  the  case  in  the  war  between  the  French  and 
English,  commonly  called  the  War  of  1756."  5 

Says  Megapolensis  of  the  Delawares,  "  They  eat  captives, 
after  having  burned  them  with  a  slow  fire."6 

Says  Roubaud  of  the  Ottawas,  "  The  first  object  which  pre 
sented  itself  to  my  eyes,  on  arriving  at  the  encampment  of  the  Ot 
tawas,  was  a  large  fire,  while  the  wooden  spits  fixed  in  the  earth 

1  i  Bancroft,  380.  s  Alaska,  49. 

3  I  Keating,  233;  I  Schoolcraft,  135.  *  Heckewelder,  235. 

s  Ib.,  37,  note. 

6  Megapolensis  and  De  Vries,  N.  Y.  Hist.  Coll.,  2d  Series,  vol.  iii.  155-59. 


FETICHISTIC  SUPERSTITIONS.  147 

gave  signs  of  a  feast.  There  was  indeed  one  taking  place.  But, 
oh,  Heaven  !  what  a  feast !  The  remains  of  the  body  of  an  Eng 
lishman  was  there,  the  skin  stripped  off,  and  more  than  one- 
half  the  flesh  gone.  A  moment  after,  I  perceived  these  in 
human  beings  eat  with  famishing  avidity  of  this  human  flesh. 
I  saw  them  taking  up  this  detestable  broth  in  large  spoons,  and 
apparently  without  being  able  to  satisfy  themselves  with  it. 
They  informed  me  that  they  had  prepared  themselves  for  this 
feast  by  drinking  from  skulls  filled  with  human  blood,  while 
their  smeared  faces  and  stained  lips  gave  evidence  of  the  truth 
of  the  story."  x 

Says  Josselyn,  "  At  Martha's  Vineyard,  certain  Indians  whilst 
I  was  in  the  country  seized  upon  a  boat  that  put  into  a  by-cove, 
killed  the  men,  and  ate  them  up  in  a  short  time  before  they 
were  discovered."  2 

The  following  description  of  a  cannibal  feast  among  the 
Ojibways  is  given  by  Henry  :  "  An  invitation  to  a  feast  is  given 
by  him  who  is  the  master  of  it.  Small  cuttings  of  cedar  wood 
of  about  four  inches  in  length  supply  the  place  of  cards,  and 
the  bearer,  by  word  of  mouth,  states  the  particulars.  Seven 
prisoners  were  killed,  and  shortly  after  two  of  the  Indians  took 
one  of  the  dead  bodies  which  they  chose  as  being  the  fattest, 
cut  off  its  head,  and  divided  the  whole  into  five  parts,  one  of 
which  was  put  into  each  of  five  kettles  hung  over  as  many 
fires  kindled  for  this  purpose  at  the  door  of  the  prison  lodge. 
An  invitation  came  to  Wawatam  to  assist  at  the  feast.  Wawa- 
tam  obeyed  the  summons,  taking  with  him,  as  is  usual,  his  dish 
and  spoon.  After  an  absence  of  about  half  an  hour,  he  re 
turned,  bringing  in  his  dish  a  human  hand  and  a  large  piece  of 
flesh.  He  did  not  appear  to  relish  the  repast,  but  told  me  that 
it  was  then  and  always  had  been  the  custom  among  all  the  In 
dian  nations  when  returning  from  war  to  make  a  war  feast  from 
among  the  slain." 3  There  was  a  lake  in  the  Red  River  country 


Roubaud,  in  Kip.,  155.     2  Josselyn's  Two  Voyages  to  New  England,  125. 
3  Henry's  Captivity. 


I48  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

called  Lake  Windigoostigon,  or  Cannibal  Lake,  in  commemora 
tion  of  deeds  of  cannibalism  committed  there  by  Ojibways  in 
1811. 

Among  the  Ojibways  early  cannibalism  appears  to  have 
passed  into  their  traditionary  history  embodied  in  a  myth. 
They  had  an  imaginary  being  whose  deeds  were  horrible  in 
the  extreme.  The  ghostly  man-eater,  a  species  of  vampire, 
had  his  residence  on  an  island  (imaginary)  in  the  centre  of 
Lake  Superior.  He  had  the  appearance  of  the  human  form, 
yet  intangible,  with  long  nails  with  which  he  dug  up  dead 
bodies  and  devoured  them,  or  robbed  the  burial-scaffold  of  its 
burden.  He  travelled  with  lightning  speed  from  one  place  to 
another,  and  whenever  the  Indian  heard  strange  songs  above 
his  wigwam,  it  was  the  ghostly  man-eater  hurrying  upon  the 
wings  of  the  wind  from  a  recent  banquet  to  his  mysterious 
island  home.  This  spiritual  monstrosity  appears  to  have  been 
doomed  to  this  life  as  a  punishment  for  an  act  of  cannibalism, 
when  he  killed  and  fed  upon  the  body  of  a  youth  who  was  the 
last  remnant  of  a  once  powerful  tribe.  Having  thus  extin 
guished  the  last  hope  of  an  Indian  race  for  perpetuation  by 
this  bloody  act,  the  Ojibways  have  handed  down  his  infamy 
in  their  folk-lore.1 

Another  mythological  character  which  belongs  to  our  sub 
ject  was  a  giant,  who  came  from  the  north  and  sought  the  hos 
pitality  of  an  Indian  village  bordering  on  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods.  He  was  entertained  at  their  expense,  and  when  the 
feast  was  ready  the  giant,  disdaining  the  wild  rice  and  game, 
destroyed  with  one  exception  the  inhabitants  who  had  gathered 
at  his  feast,  and  devoured  their  dead  bodies.  The  youth  who 
escaped  carried  revenge  in  his  heart,  and  when  he  became  a 
great  hunter  he  invited  the  cannibal  giant  to  a  feast,  and  into 
his  bowl  of  soup  he  placed  a  bitter  root,  which  soon  deprived 
him  of  his  strength.  He  prepared  to  sleep,  and  under  him  was 
spread  his  robe  of  weasel-skins,  and  over  him  was  thrown  his 

1  Lanman's  Ilaw-IIoo-Hoo,  195-96; 


FETICHISTIC  SUPERSTITIONS.  149 

net  woven  by  a  mammoth  spider.  When  deep  sleep  had  fallen 
upon  him,  the  guests  despatched  him  with  their  clubs,  and  his 
flesh  became  alive  very  soon  with  little  animals  and  birds,  who 
fed  upon  it.1  Truly  he  was  a  fit  companion  for  the  giant 
Ymer  of  the  Norse  folk-lore. 

The  Indians  of  Brazil  and  Paraguay  formerly  delighted  in 
human  flesh.  They  confessed,  after  the  introduction  of  Chris 
tianity,  that  the  flesh  of  animals  tasted  insipid  to  them  in  com 
parison  with  that  of  men.2  The  Botecudos  sucked  the  blood 
from  living  victims,  thinking  they  would  imbibe  spiritual  force.3. 

The  Brazilians  had  human  flesh  salted  and  smoked  and  hung 
up  in  their  houses.  One  man  boasted  that  he  had  partaken  of 
the  bodies  of  three  hundred  enemies.  But  it  was  a  stronger 
passion  than  hunger  that  gave  these  accursed  banquets  their 
highest  relish.4  Children  were  raised  by  their  captives  from 
tribal  women  for  the  express  purpose  of  being  eaten.  In  their 
great  cannibal  feasts  the  women  were  the  most  ravenous  canni 
bals,  and  even  the  children  had  the  brains  and  tongue  allotted 
to  them.  Every  part  of  the  body  was  devoured.5  One  of  the 
children  raised  from  captives,  whom  the  Portuguese  offered  to 
redeem  and  save  from  a  feast  to  which  she  was  dedicated,  pre 
ferred,  she  said,  to  be  buried  in  the  bellies  of  her  lords  and 
masters  whom  she  loved.6^ 

Among  the  Brazilians,  the  first  food  given  a  child  when 
weaning  it  from  its  mother's  milk  was  the  flesh  of  an  enemy.' 
The  bones  of  those  eaten  were  laid  up  in  piles  before  their 
houses,  and  the  rank  and  estimation  of  a  family  were  in  propor 
tion  to  the  size  of  its  heap.8 

Prisoners  dedicated  to  a  cannibal  feast  were  treated  well,  had 
attendants  appointed  for  them  and  women  given  them.  They 
were  fattened,  and  paraded  up  and  down  with  great  ceremony. 
Every  guest  invited  to  the  feast  came  and  touched  the  prisoner, 


1  Lanman,  235.  2  2  Dobriz.,  26.  3  3  Southey,  808. 

*  i  Southey,  17.  s  i  ib.,  218-22.  6  I  ib.,  640. 

7  2  ib.,  289.  8  I  ib.,  655. 


150  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

who  was  treated  like  a  god.1  Mr.  Southey  thinks  the  motive 
for  their  cannibalism  was  some  savage  notion  of  superstition.2 

The  priests  of  Guatemala  ate  the  bodies  of  those  who  were 
sacrificed.  It  was  considered  sacred  meat.3 

Cieza,  speaking  of  the  Peruvians,  says,  "  All  the  Indians  of 
this  country  eat  human  flesh."4  Cieza  saw  them  eat  in  one  day 
more  than  a  hundred  men  and  women  they  had  taken  in  war.5 
Drawing  blood  from  the  nose  of  a  child  in  Peru  was  a  relic  of 
cannibalism.  The  more  uncivilized  Peruvians  always  ate  the 
flesh  of  those  whom  they  sacrificed  to  their  gods;6  and  the 
bodies  of  the  victims  were  cut  up  and  exposed  for  sale,  and 
sold  in  the  public  markets.7  Peruvian  mythology  had  its  giants 
who  were  cannibals,  who  were  exterminated  by  a  resplendent 
young  man  who  came  riding  upon  the  clouds,  shining  like  the 
sun,  and  hurling  flames  of  fire.8 

Cannibalism  prevailed  among  the  Mexicans.  The  bodies  of 
those  slain  on  the  field  of  battle  were  devoured  by  those 
voracious  cannibals  who  followed  the  armies  to  feed  on  the 
dead  bodies.9  The  towns  had  wooden  cages  where  they  kept 
and  fattened,  for  the  purpose  of  eating,  the  captives  in  war.10 
Human  flesh,  exquisitely  prepared,  was  found  upon  the  table 
of  Montezuma,  and  was  eaten  by  the  Mexicans,  not  for  the 
purpose  of  allaying  appetite,  but  from  religious  motives.11  All 
the  Nahua  nations  practised  this  religious  cannibalism.  That 
cannibalism  as  a  source  of  food,  unconnected  with  religious 
rites,  was  ever  practised,  there  is  little  evidence.  Sahagun  and 
Las  Casas  regard  the  cannibalism  of  the  Nahuas  as  an  abhor 
rent  feature  of  their  religion,  and  not  as  an  unnatural  appetite. 
They  ate  the  flesh  of  their  sacrificed  foes  only.12 

The  Mayas  also  ate  the  flesh  of  human  victims  sacrificed  to 
the  gods.  In  Nicaragua,  the  high-priest  received  the  heart,  the 
king  the  feet  and  hands,  the  captors  took  the  thighs,  and  the 

r2  Southey,  370.  2  3  ib.,  709.  3  Ximenez,  183. 

«  Cieza,  46.  $  Ib.,  78.  6  Ranking,  89. 

7  II).,  77.  8  I  Zarate,  17.  9  i  ib.,  267. 

10  Diaz,  496.  "  2  Bancroft,  176.  "  2  ib.,  357-58;  Diaz,  66. 


FETICHISTIC  SUPERSTITIONS.  151 

tripe  was  given  to  the  trumpeters.  The  natives  of  Honduras 
said  the  Spaniards  were  too  tough  and  bitter  to  be  eaten.1  "  The 
Mosquito  men  never  gave  quarter  to  any  but  women ;  but  as 
many  men  and  children  as  they  take  they  tie  and  throw  upon 
a  barbecue,  as  they  call  it,  which  is  a  rack  of  stakes  doing  the 
office  of  a  gridiron,  and  make  a  good  fire  underneath,  which, 
with  the  help  of  the  sun  overhead  at  noon,  soon  dresses  their 
bodies  fit  for  their  teeth,  which  food  they  esteem  best  of  any. 
But  before  this  cookery,  whilst  the  prisoner  lives,  they  draw 
out  his  finger  and  toe  nails,  and  knock  out  his  teeth  with 
stones,  which  teeth  and  nails  they  wear  about  their  necks  like 
a  necklace."2 

Many  Brazilian  tribes  manifested  their  love  for  the  dead  by 
reducing  the  bones  to  powder,  and  mingling  it  with  a  bread 
which  they  then  ate.  Love,  as  well  as  hatred,  leads  to  can 
nibalism,  and  an  Artemisia  could  be  found  in  every  Tapuya 
widow. 

Among  the  Tapuyas,  when  an  infant  died  it  was  eaten  by 
the  parents.  Adults  were  eaten  by  the  kindred,  and  their  bones 
were  pounded  and  reserved  for  marriage-feasts,  as  being  the 
most  precious  thing  that  could  be  offered.3  When  they  be 
came  old  they  offered  themselves  to  their  children,  who  de 
voured  them  after  putting  them  to  death.  They  thought  their 
spiritual  substance  became  incorporated.4 

The  Xomanas  and  Passes  burned  the  bones  of  the  dead,  and 
drank  the  ashes,  and  in  this  way,  they  thought,  they  received 
into  their  bodies  the  spirits  of  their  deceased  friends. 

The  Maypuris  devoured  their  sick  and  infirm.5 

The  Arawaks  pounded  the  bones  of  their  dead  lords  into 
powder,  and  drank  them. 

The  ancient  Peruvians  ate  their  deceased  parents. 

I  have  dwelt  longer  upon  the  painful  subject  of  cannibalism 
than  might  seem  desirable,  in  order  to  show  its  religious  char- 

1  2  Bancroft,  725. 

2  Descrip.  Mosquito  Kingdom,  Churchill's  Coll.  Voy.,  vol.  vi.  p.  291. 

3  i  Southey,  379.  4  Denis,  Bresil,  9.  s  i  Southey,  590. 


152  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

acter  and  prevalence  everywhere.  Instead  of  being  confined  to 
savage  peoples,  as  is  generally  supposed,  it  prevailed  to  a  greater 
extent  and  with  more  horrible  rites  among  the  most  civilized. 
Its  religious  inception  was  the  cause  of  this. 

The  origin  of  a  religious  rite  among  the  aboriginal  Ameri 
cans  similar  to  the  eucharistic  among  Roman  Catholics  is  un 
doubtedly  based  upon  the  primitive  superstition,  that  by  eating 
a  part  of  any  animate  body,  or  body  supposed  to  be  animate, 
the  partaker  is  endowed  with  the  qualities  of  that  body.  This 
superstition  was  very  prevalent  among  the  various  tribes  who 
thought  they  became  endowed  with  the  qualities  of  the  animal 
eaten.  It  developed  itself  in  cannibalism,  which  had  a  strangely 
protracted  life  in  the  semi-civilization  of  America,  and  it  mani 
fested  itself  in  the  eucharistic  idol  and  feast  of  the  Aztecs. 
This  singular  rite  was  called  Teoqualo, — that  is,  "  the  eating  of 
the  god."  A  figure  of  Huitzilopochtli  was  made  in  dough, 
and  after  certain  ceremonies  they  made  a  pretence  of  killing  it 
and  dividing  it  into  morsels,  which  were  eaten  by  the  worship 
pers  as  a  sacred  food.1 

The  superstition  underlying  idolatry  explains  this  apparently 
meaningless  rite.  They  supposed  their  idol  was  animate,  and 
the  spiritual  substance  inhered  in  the  material  of  the  idol  and 
passed  into  their  bodies  with  it  and  was  assimilated.  Thus  a 
transmigration  of  a  portion  of  the  spiritual  substance  of  a  god 
was  accomplished.  One  of  these  eucharistic  ceremonies  is  thus 
described  by  Herrera :  "  An  idol  made  of  all  the  varieties  of 
the  seeds  and  grain  of  the  country  was  made  and  moistened 
with  the  blood  of  children  and  virgins ;  this  idol  was  broken 
into  small  bits,  and  given  by  way  of  communion  to  men  and 
women  to  eat,  who,  to  prepare  for  that  festival,  bathed  and 
dressed  their  heads  and  scarce  slept  all  the  night.  They  prayed, 
and  as  soon  as  it  was  day  were  all  in  the  temple  to  receive  that 
communion,  with  such  singular  silence  and  devotion  that  though 
there  was  an  infinite  multitude  there  seemed  to  be  nobody.  If 

1  Tylor's  Anahuac,  280. 


FETICHISTIC  SUPERSTITIONS.  153 

any  of  the  idol  was  left,  the  priests  ate  it.  Montezuma  went  to 
this  ceremony  attended  by  abundance  of  quality  and  richly 
dressed."  *  Mendieta  mentions  the  same  ceremony,  and  says, 
"  Gods  were  eaten  in  this  way ;  they  made  idols  of  seeds,  and 
ate  them  as  though  they  were  the  bodies  of  their  gods." 2  These 
seed  idols  have  a  special  significance,  because  the  mysterious 
vitality  of  a  seed  and  its  germinating  power  impressed  itself  on 
all  the  American  tribes,  and  manifested  itself  in  many  rites  and 
ceremonies.  The  tobacco-plant  was  supposed  to  be  imbued 
with  the  spiritual  body  of  the  goddess  Ciuacoatl,  and  was  eaten 
in  the  eucharistic  ceremony  to  her.  The  Totomacs  had  a  com 
munion  in  the  following  way.  Every  three  years  they  killed 
three  boys  and  took  out  their  hearts.  From  their  blood, 
mixed  with  certain  seeds,  they  made  a  paste  which  was  con 
sidered  a  eucharist  and  a  most  sacred  thing,  and  was  partaken 
of  every  six  months  by  men  above  twenty-five  and  women 
above  sixteen.  They  called  the  paste,  food  of  our  souls.3 

The  significance  of  this  rite  consisted  in  a  supposed  afflux  of 
spiritual  life.  A  transmigration  was  the  explanation  of  the 
mystery. 

Another  fetichistic  superstition  arose  from  the  animistic  be 
liefs  of  primitive  peoples.  Consequent  upon  their  belief  in  the 
omnipresence  of  spirits  was  a  superstitious  fear  of  having  their 
own  names  spoken  aloud  or  of  using  the  names  of  the  dead. 

The  superstition  prevailed  among  all  the  tribes  that  the 
utterance  of  a  word  at  any  distance  had  a  direct  effect  on  the 
object  which  that  word  stands  for.  They  thought  they  could 
be  bewitched  through  their  names  as  well  as  their  images  or 
parts  of  their  bodies.4 

The  Araucanians  would  not  allow  their  names  to  be  told  to 
strangers,  lest  these  should  be  used  in  sorcery.5 

The  New  Mexican  tribes  never  made  known  their  own  names 
or  those  of  friends  to  a  stranger.  The  Indians  of  British  Co- 


1  2  Herrera,  379.  2  Mendieta,  108.  3  Ib.,  109. 

*  Tylor's  Researches,  124.         $2  Wood,  564. 


154  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

lumbia  had  a  strong  prejudice  against  telling  their  own  names. 
Among  the  Ojibways  the  name-superstition  prevailed.  Hus 
bands  and  wives  never  told  each  other's  names,  and  children 
were  told  they  would  stop  growing  if  they  repeated  their  own 
names.1  Their  names  were  considered  sacred,  and  were  gen 
erally  kept  secret.  The  names  by  which  the  Indians  were 
called  were  generally  not  their  true  names,  but  were  given 
them  for  some  characteristic  peculiarity.  The  secret  name  of 
Pocahontas  was  Matokes,  which  was  concealed  from  the  English 
out  of  superstitious  fear.2  In  the  mythical  story  of  Hiawatha 
the  same  was  true,  his  real  name  being  Tarenyawagon.  The 
Abipones  of  Paraguay  had  the  same  superstition.  Mr.  Dobriz- 
hoffer  says  they  would  knock  on  his  door  at  night,  and  when 
he  would  ask  who  was  there  no  answer  would  come;  they  were 
afraid  to  utter  their  names.  Among  some  tribes  the  names  of 
all  the  acquaintances  of  a  person  were  changed  at  his  death,  to 
avoid,  as  far  as  possible,  the  recognition  of  the  living  by  the 
ghosts  of  the  dead.  The  Chinooks  changed  their  names  when 
a  near  relative  died,  under  the  impression  that  spirits  would  be 
attracted  back  to  earth  if  they  heard  familiar  names.3  The 
Lenguas  of  Brazil  changed  their  names  on  the  death  of  any 
one,  for  they  believed  that  the  dead  knew  the  names  of  all 
whom  they  had  left  alive,  and  might  look  for  them ;  for  this 
reason  they  changed  their  names,  hoping  that  if  they  returned 
they  could  not  find  them. 

The  Indians  also  refrained  from  mentioning  the  names  of 
dead  persons.  Among  the  New  England  tribes,  if  any  man 
bore  the  name  of  the  dead,  he  immediately  changed  his  name.4 

A  superstitious  fear  of  pronouncing  the  names  of  the  dead 
prevailed  everywhere.  It  was  a  crime  among  the  Abipones  to 
utter  the  name  of  a  dead  person.  A  mistake  in  doing  this  led 
to  bloody  quarrels.5 

The  Fuegians  never  mentioned  the  name  of  the  dead.6 

1  Jones's  Ojibways,  162.  2  2  Schoolcraft,  66. 

3  i  Bancroft,  248.  <  I  Arnold's  Rhode  Island,  77. 

5  2  Dobriz.,  444-45.  6  Darwin's  Nat.  Voy.,  214. 


FETICHISTIC  SUPERSTITIONS.  155 

The  Indians  of  Virginia,  says  Blome,  did  not  mention  the 
name  of  a  dead  person,  and  those  having  the  same  name 
changed  it.  Among  the  Western  tribes  they  never  mentioned 
the  names  of  their  relations  after  they  were  dead.1 

Among  the  Northern  tribes,  when  a  death  occurred,  if  a  rela 
tive  of  the  deceased  was  absent  they  hung  along  the  road  by 
which  he  would  return  something  to  apprise  him  of  the  fact,  so 
that  he  would  not  mention  the  name  of  the  dead  on  his  return. 
Among  the  Northwestern  tribes  the  Indians  considered  it  a 
sacrilege  to  mention  the  name  of  a  person  after  he  was  dead.2 

This  superstition  is  found  in  the  Shawnee  myth  of  Yellow 
Sky,  who  was  a  daughter  of  the  tribe,  and  had  dreams  which 
told  her  she  was  created  for  an  unheard-of  mission.  There 
was  a  mystery  about  her  being,  and  none  could  comprehend 
the  meaning  of  her  evening  songs.  The  paths  leading  to  her 
father's  lodge  were  more  beaten  than  those  to  any  other.  On 
one  condition  alone  at  last  she  consented  to  become  a  wife. 
That  condition  was,  that  he  who  became  her  husband  should 
never  mention  her  name.  If  he  did,  she  cautioned  him,  a  sad 
calamity  would  befall  him,  and  he  would  forever  thereafter  regret 
his  thoughtlessness.  After  a  time  Yellow  Sky  sickened  and 
died,  and  her  last  words  were  that  her  husband  should  never 
breathe  her  name.  The  widower  for  five  summers  lived  in 
solitude.  But,  alas,  one  day  as  he  was  upon  the  grave  of  his 
dead  Yellow  Sky  an  Indian  asked  him  whose  it  was,  and  he 
forgot  and  uttered  the  forbidden  name.  He  fell  to  the  earth 
in  great  pain,  and  as  darkness  settled  round  about  him  a  trans 
formation  scene  began,  and  next  morning  near  the  grave  of 
Yellow  Sky  a  large  buck  was  quietly  feeding.  It  was  the  un 
happy  husband.3 

The  Connecticut  tribes  never  pronounced  the  names  of  the 
dead.  If  the  offence  was  twice  repeated,  death  was  not  re 
garded  as  a  punishment  too  severe.  In  1655,  Philip,  having 


Parker's  Journal,  251.  2  Harmon's  Journal,  349. 

3  Lanman's  Haw-Hoo-Hoo,  231-32. 


156  PRIMITIVE   SUPERSTITIONS. 

heard  that  another  Indian  had  spoken  the  name  of  a  deceased 
relative  of  his,  came  to  the  island  of  Nantucket  to  kill  him,  and 
the  English  had  to  interfere  to  prevent  it.1  Among  the  Cali 
fornia  tribes  the  name  of  the  departed  was  never  breathed  by  the 
living.  If  spoken  accidentally,  a  shudder  passed  over  all  those 
present.2  The  Atuas  never  mentioned  the  name  of  the  dead. 
Such  an  act  would  have  been  considered  the  greatest  rudeness.3 
Among  the  Iroquois,  upon  the  death  of  a  person,  his  name 
could  not  be  used  again  in  the  lifetime  of  his  oldest  surviving 
son  without  the  consent  of  the  latter.4 

Tattooing  is  fetichistic  in  its  origin.  Among  all  the  tribes, 
almost  every  Indian  has  the  image  of  an  animal  tattooed  on  his 
breast  or  arm,  which  can  charm  away  an  evil  spirit  or  prevent 
harm  to  them. 

It  is  quite  remarkable  to  find  this  superstition  as  prevalent 
as  it  was  among  the  more  civilized  tribes. 

The  Central  Americans  tattooed  their  breasts,  arms,  and 
thighs  with  figures  of  eagles,  serpents,  and  other  animals.5 

The  Nicaraguans  practised  the  same  custom.  Herrera  men 
tions  the  custom  of  tattooing  the  skin  with  stags  and  other 
such  creatures  among  the  natives  of  Honduras.6 

The  Isthmians  tattooed  their  bodies  with  the  figures  of  ani 
mals  and  trees.7 

The  Mexicans  thought  themselves  perfectly  safe  from  all 
harm  when  their  bodies  were  anointed  or  painted  with  an 
unction,  called  the  divine  medicament,  composed  of  a  mixture 
of  poisonous  insects,  such  as  scorpions  and  spiders.8 

Tattooing  will  be  further  noticed  under  animal  worship. 

All  fetiches  are  supposed  to  have  spiritual  intelligent  beings 
who  reside  in  them.  In  its  broadest  definition,  therefore,  feti- 
chism  would  include  the  whole  subject  of  primitive  religion  ; 
but  in  order  to  deal  with  it  as  a  separate  subject  it  is  limited 
to  those  material  objects  which  are  worn  or  kept  about  the 

x  Beach,  301.  *  4  Schoolcraft,  226.  3  Dall's  Alaska,  524. 

4  Morgan's  Ancient  Society,  79.  5  Cogolludo,  book  4,  chap.  5. 

6  I  Herrera,  262.          7  i  Bancroft,  753.  8  I  Clavigero,  273. 


FETICHISTIC  SUPERSTITIONS.  157 

person  for  individual  use.     Fetichism,  being  dependent  on  the 
ghost  theory,  has  of  course  succeeded  it  in  point  of  time. 

In  America  we  find  fetichism  among  the  rudest  tribes,  but 
among  the  civilized  Peruvians  it  became  immensely  elaborated. 

It  is  plain  that  a  good  deal  of  mental  activity  has  been  pres 
ent  among  a  people  that  have  elaborated  the  doctrine  of  fetich- 
ism  to  any  extent,  as  was  the  case  among  the  Peruvians. 

A  barren  mind  could  not  conceive  of  an  inanimate  object 
having  in  it  some  existence  besides  that  which  his  senses  ac 
quaint  him  with.  He  could  not  imagine  an  invisible  entity 
within  a  visible  one,  but  showing  no  evidence  of  its  existence. 
He  has  not  the  mental  power  to  grasp  such  a  conception.1 

A  rude  fetichism  prevailed  among  the  Eskimos,  who  loaded 
themselves  with  amulets  dangling  about  their  necks  and  arms. 
They  consisted  of  bones,  bills,  and  claws  of  birds,  which,  ac 
cording  to  their  opinion,  had  a  wonderful  virtue  to  preserve 
those  that  wore  them  from  disease  and  misfortune.2  The  men 
always  kept  some  part  of  the  seal  they  had  killed,  lest  they 
should  forfeit  their  luck.  They  were  very  anxious  to  get  a 
rag  or  shoe  of  a  European,  to  hang  about  their  children's 
necks,  that  they  might  acquire  European  skill  and  ability 
thereby.  They  requested  Europeans  to  blow  upon  them.  The 
prows  of  their  boats  were  always  adorned  with  a  fox's  head,  and 
their  harpoons  with  an  eagle's  beak.  They  piled  the  heads  of 
their  seals  before  their  doors,  that  the  souls  of  the  seals  might 
not  get  angry.  The  kayak  was  often  adorned  with  a  dead 
sparrow  or  snipe,  or  the  feathers  or  hair  of  some  animal,  to 
ward  off  danger.  Eagles'  claws  were  a  great  fetich.3 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  souls  of  animals  among 
savage  peoples  were  more  potent  than  those  of  men,  and  ani 
mal  fetiches  prevailed  as  early  man  depended  upon  the  animal 
world  and  most  of  his  associations  were  with  it. 

The  natives  of  the  Yukon  territory  wear  bears'  claws  and 
teeth,  sables'  tails  and  wolves'  ears,  porcupine  quills  and  ermine 


Spencer,  345.  2  Egede,  198.  3  i  Crantz,  200. 

ii 


1 58  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

skins,  beavers'  teeth,  and  the  bright-green  scalps  of  the  mal 
lard.  They  pierce  the  nose  to  insert  shells  therein.1  The 
Innuits  wear  beluga  teeth.  Ear-rings  are  much  worn  among 
them,  and  the  ceremony  of  boring  the  ear  is  a  religious  one. 
They  also  wear  images  of  animals.2  The  Haidahs  used  small 
owls  and  squirrels  as  amulets.  Amulets  made  of  the  tusks  of 
some  animal  akin  to  the  mastodon  were  found  in  many  of  the 
graves  of  Tennessee.3  An  Indian  who  possessed  a  tooth  pro 
nounced  by  Professor  Marsh,  when  in  the  Black  Hills,  to  be 
that  of  a  brontotherium,  said  it  belonged  to  a  big  horse  struck 
by  lightning.4  He  thought  it  was  a  great  fetich.  The  New 
Mexicans  wore  feathers  of  birds,  antelopes'  toes,  and  cranes' 
bills  as  charms.5  The  Isthmians  wore  around  their  necks  the 
figures  of  animals,  and  carried  about  their  persons  the  claws 
of  wild  beasts  and  feathers.6  The  Abipones  wore  crocodiles' 
teeth  suspended  from  their  neck,  and  believed  they  would  de 
fend  them  from  the  bites  of  serpents.  The  Haytians  also  used 
such  fetiches.7  In  the  tombs  of  all  the  more  civilized  American 
nations  small  images  of  animals  intended  as  fetiches  were 
found.  The  eyes  of  the  cuttle-fish  were  very  popular  fetiches 
in  Peru.8 

The  Brazilian  savages  wore  bones  in  their  ears  and  cheeks 
as  fetiches.  One  of  the  tribes  wore  a  parrot's  feather  through 
the  nose.  Animal  fetiches  were  more  used  than  any  other,  on 
account  of  the  prevalence  of  the  system  of  animal  manitous 
hereafter  noticed.  Among  the  Northern  tribes,  boys,  when 
arriving  at  puberty,  selected  an  animal  as  a  patron,  and  always 
wore  a  piece  of  the  skin  or  bone  of  that  animal  as  an  amulet, 
and  used  every  precaution  against  its  loss,  which  would  have 
been  regarded  as  a  great  calamity.  The  young  Indian,  after 
having  chosen  his  patron  or  manitou,  yielded  to  it  a  sort  of 
worship,  propitiated  it  with  offerings  of  tobacco,  thanked  it  in 
prosperity,  and  upbraided  it  in  disaster.  The  superstition  be- 

«  Dall,  95.  2  Ih.,  140-41.  3  Smithsonian  Rep.,  1877,  274. 

4  Beach,  259.  s  i  Bancroft,  522.  6  I  ib.f  752. 

7  i  Rafmesque,  191.  8  Bollaert,  151. 


FETICHISTIC  SUPERSTITIONS.  159 

came  mere  fetich-worship.1  If  the  animal  would  admit  of  its 
skin  being  made  into  a  bag,  it  became  his  medicine-bag.  The 
medicine-bag  and  its  meaning  and  importance  should  be  under 
stood,  as  it  may  be  said  to  be  the  key  to  Indian  life  and  Indian 
character.  These  bags  were  constructed  of  the  skins  of  ani 
mals,  and  ornamented  in  a  thousand  different  ways  as  suited 
the  taste  or  freak  of  each  person.  Every  Indian  carried  his 
medicine-bag,  to  which  he  paid  the  greatest  homage,  and  to 
which  he  looked  for  safety  and  protection  through  life.  Feasts 
were  often  made  and  dogs  and  horses  sacrificed  to  a  man's 
medicine-bag,  and  days  and  even  weeks  of  fasting  and  penance 
of  various  kinds  were  often  suffered  to  appease  this  fetich, 
which  he  imagined  he  had  in  some  way  offended.  He  looked 
upon  this  as  a  supernatural  charm  or  guardian,  on  which  he 
depended  for  the  preservation  of  his  life.  In  death  it  was 
buried  with  him,  and  was  thought  to  be  as  useful  in  the  next 
world  as  in  this.  If  an  Indian  should  sell  or  give  away  his  med 
icine-bag,  he  would  be  disgraced  in  his  tribe.  If  it  was  taken 
away  from  him  in  battle,  he  was  forever  subjected  to  the  de 
grading  epithet  of  "  a  man  without  medicine,"  and  he  could 
only  restore  his  honor  and  replace  his  medicine  by  capturing 
one  from  an  enemy  in  battle.  He  could  institute  his  medicine- 
bag  but  once  in  life,  and  then  by  a  dream.2  They  did  not  dare 
touch  the  medicine-bags  of  each  other,  for  they  would  injure 
any  who  dared  to  examine  their  sacred  contents.3  Before  they 
went  to  war  they  examined  these  as  carefully  as  our  soldiers 
would  their  cartridge-boxes.4 

The  Tupinambas  of  Brazil  carried  their  devotion  to  their 
maracas  farther  than  the  North  American  to  his  medicine-bag. 
These  maracas  were  worshipped.  They  were  supposed  to  give 
oracles.  They  sacrificed  human  beings  to  them.  They  were 
supposed  to  be  inhabited  by  a  spirit.5 

These  maracas  were  gourds  with  pebbles  in   them.     They 


1  Parkman's  Jes.,  Ixxi.  2  I  Catlin,  36-37.  3  i  ib.,  154-55. 

4  Kohl,  344.  s  i  Southey,  202. 


l6o  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

were  so  sacred  none  but  their  owners  could  look  at  them. 
Offerings  of  game  and  honey  were  made  to  them.1  They  per 
formed  sacred  dances  to  them.  The  maraca  was  made  of  a 
fruit  so  called,  was  hollow,  and  had  a  stick  running  through  it, 
and  on  the  top  of  this  stick  was  a  tuft  of  human  hair,  which 
undoubtedly  gave  it  its  sacred  character.  Every  man  of  those 
tribes  on  the  Orinoco  had  one  of  these.2 

The  medicine-bag,  or  maraca,  did  not  exclude  the  use  of  other 
fetiches.  Sometimes  as  many  as  twenty  amulets  were  found 
within  a  medicine-bag.  Among  the  Northern  tribes  a  child's 
cradle  was  hung  with  fetiches  to  ward  off  evil.3 

The  Iroquois  wore  amulets  as  a  defence  against  witchcraft 
and  sorcery.  They  were  worn  on  the  breast,  or  suspended 
from  the  neck  or  ears.  They  were  sometimes  representations 
of  a  human  face,  but  generally  a  part  of  some  animal.4 

A  great  part  of  their  philosophy  of  medicine  consisted  of 
amulets.  They  believed  the  possession  of  certain  articles  about 
the  person  rendered  the  body  invulnerable.  Some  of  them 
were  kept  in  the  medicine-sack,  some  worn  as  ornaments.  Sea- 
shells  have  always  been  very  popular  amulets.  The  sea  appears 
to  have  been  invested  with  mystical  powers,  and  any  of  its  in 
habitants  shared  the  mystery, — a  very  reasonable  superstition,  it 
would  appear,  when  we  look  at  these  colored,  glittering,  and 
beautifully-formed  objects.  Their  wampum-strings  were  always 
sacred  in  their  eyes,  and  were  a  token  of  the  sacred  character 
of  treaties.  Amulets  used  in  life  were  buried  with  the  dead.5 

Among  the  Peruvians  the  conopas  were  the  individual  deities. 
If  a  person  found  anything  that  was  of  peculiar  color  or  figure, 
it  was  a  conopa,  and  became  a  fetich  to  them.  They  worshipped 
them.  The  bezoar  stones,  which  were  very  popular  conopas, 
were  often  found  with  blood  on  them,  implying  a  bloody  sacri 
fice.  These  conopas  descended  from  father  to  son.6  They 
protected  their  estates  against  thieves  by  laying  down  tortoise- 


1  I  Southey,  379.  2  I  ib.,  187-88.  3  Kohl,  8. 

<  Schoolcraft's  Iroquois,  137-38.      5  i  Schoolcraft,  86.  6  Ardaga,  14-15. 


FETICHISTIC  SUPERSTITIONS.  161 

shells.  No  one  dared  enter  an  estate  where  there  was  one  of 
these  shells.1  Flamingoes  were  used  to  preserve  dwellings 
from  harm.  Each  Peruvian  might  have  as  many  fetiches  as  he 
pleased.  The  number  was  not  restricted,  as  in  Mexico,  where 
the  king  might  have  six,  a  noble  four,  and  a  plebeian  only  two. 
They  made  little  images  of  llamas,  alpacas,  vicunas,  huanacas, 
deer,  monkeys,  parrots,  lizards,  and  other  animals,  and  carried 
and  worshipped  them.  Some  of  them  had  little  cavities  in  the 
back,  in  which  sacrifices  were  placed.2 

Among  the  Mexicans,  "  travellers  carried  a  black  stick  which 
was  a  fetich,  for  they  thought  it  preserved  them  from  all  harm, 
and  when  they  made  a  halt  they  worshipped  it."  3 

The  Northern  tribes  used  banners  as  fetiches,  on  which  was 
a  picture  of  the  totemic  animal  of  the  tribe.  Many  heraldic 
devices,  which  will  be  noticed  under  animal  worship,  were 
sketched  on  skins  of  animals.  An  animal  chosen  as  a  crest 
must  not  be  killed  or  ill  treated  in  the  presence  of  any  wearing 
its  figure. 

The  supposition  that  the  animate  creation  could  be  subjected 
to  the  control  of  any  who  possessed  a  part  has  survived  even 
among  the  most  civilized  of  the  American  peoples.  The  super 
stition  has  been  extended  to  include  a  belief  which  has  devel 
oped  therefrom,  that  by  keeping  in  possession  the  bones  of  an 
individual  of  a  species,  the  other  members  of  the  species  could 
be  influenced  thereby. 

The  natives  of  Honduras  kept  the  bones  of  deer  in  their 
houses,  thinking  it  gave  them  power  over  the  deer.  If  they 
lost  them  they  would  kill  no  more  deer.4 

The  prevalence  of  these  superstitions  relating  to  parts  of  the 
bodies  of  animate  creation  would  develop  a  desire  to  preserve 
with  sacred  care  the  bones  of  the  dead,  for  by  obtaining  a  part 
of  the  body  of  a  deceased  person  the  possessor  had  control 
over  the  spirit  of  the  deceased. 


1  Oliva,  118-19.  a  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  171-74. 

3  i  Clavigero,  388.  4  4  Herrera,  142. 


1 62  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Again,  it  was  the  universal  desire  of  primitive  peoples  to  have 
their  bodies  kept  intact,  with  the  expectation  of  reanimating 
them  at  some  future  time.  The  perfection  of  this  reanimated 
body  was  prevented,  they  thought,  if  the  parts  were  separated. 
Hence  we  are  led  to  the  consideration  of  the  mortuary  customs 
of  the  aborigines,  and  the  ceremonies  connected  therewith, 
which  will  elucidate  their  worship  of  the  dead. 


CHAPTER    V. 

RITES    AND    CEREMONIES    CONNECTED    WITH    THE    DEAD. 

Burial-customs — Care  of  the  dead — Interment — Suspension — Cremation — Tombs 
the  primitive  altars — The  mounds,  their  builders  and  uses — Burial-towers — 
Resurrection  of  the  dead — Sacrifice — jFood-offerings  the  primitive  form-— Human 
sacrifices — Tombs  the  primitive  temples. 

BURIAL-CUSTOMS  and  ceremonies  are  closely  connected  with 
the  subject  of  the  worship  of  human  spirits.  In  the  perform 
ance  of  this  "  last  act"  we  can  find  valuable  evidence  to  aid  in 
our  researches  on  primitive  religion.  The  rites  and  ceremonies 
attending  the  disposition  of  the  dead  were  religious  in  their 
nature,  and  religious  rites  are  unconscious  commentaries  on 
religious  beliefs. 

The  great  care  of  primitive  peoples  in  preserving  the  bodies 
of  the  dead  has  been  instigated  by  many  of  their  superstitions, 
prominent  among  which  was  their  belief  in  a  resurrection. 
The  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  was  the  most  deeply-rooted 
and  wide-spread  conviction  of  the  Indian  mind.  It  is  indis- 
solubly  connected  with  their  highest  theories  of  a  future  life. 
The  Delawares  told  Loskiel,  "  We  Indians  shall  not  forever  die. 
Even  the  grains  of  corn  grow  up  and  become  living  things." 
The  Indians  thought  the  soul  would  return  to  the  bones  and 
be  clothed  again  with  flesh.1 

Their  belief  that  dreams  were  produced  by  the  soul's  de 
parture  from  and  return  to  the  body  was  akin  to  their  belief  in 
resurrection.  The  only  difference  between  sleep  and  death 
to  the  primitive  mind  consisted  in  the  extent  of  time  the  soul 
was  absent.  In  both  the  soul  would  return;  in  both  the  body 

1  Brinton,  272-73. 


1 64  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

would  reawake.  The  custom  which  we  have  noticed  of  bury 
ing  the  dead  quickly  after  death  in  many  tribes,  and  with  no 
medical  skill  to  know  whether  life  was  extinct,  resulted  often 
in  the  return  of  the  supposed  dead  man  to  life,  and  thus  afforded 
practical  proof  of  a  resurrection  to  the  savage  mind.  This  doc 
trine  of  a  resurrection  manifested  itself  in  Oriental  art  in  the 
production  of  the  topes.  In  Egypt  the  pyramids  are  an  evidence 
of  it.  In  Greek  literature  Antigone  is  an  expression  of  this 
thought. 

The  same  superstitious  care  of  the  bodies  of  the  dead  which 
has  inspired  so  many  classical  tales  is  found  among  even  the 
rudest  of  the  American  tribes.  Says  Del  Techo  of  those  tribes 
inhabiting  Brazil  and  its  vicinity,  "  They  carefully  keep  the 
bones  of  their  relatives ;  nor  is  there  any  affront  they  avenge 
with  so  much  war  and  slaughter  as  when  you  upbraid  them 
that  the  bones  of  their  ancestors  have  been  lost  for  want  of 
looking  after."1  Mr.  Humboldt  says,  in  speaking  of  the  cave 
of  Ataruipe,  in  Guiana,  which  he  thought  to  be  the  grave  of  an 
extinct  tribe,  "  We  counted  about  six  hundred  well-preserved 
skeletons  placed  in  as  many  caskets  formed  of  the  stalks  of 
palm-leaves.  These  skeletons  were  so  perfect  that  not  a  rib  or 
finger  was  wanting."2  Among  the  Northern  tribes  the  bones 
of  the  dead  were  preserved  with  scrupulous  care,  and  if  one  was 
missing  it  would  be  looked  for  till  found.  Even  the  comfort 
of  the  body  was  looked  after.  Says  Arriaga  of  the  Peruvians, 
"  They  are  convinced  that  corpses  feel,  eat,  and  drink,  and  will 
rise  again,  and  are  much  better  satisfied  with  vaults,  where  they 
do  not  suffer  with  a  load  of  earth  placed  upon  them."3  They 
so  skilfully  embalmed  the  bodies  of  their  deceased  Incas  that 
they  were  as  successful  as  the  Egyptians  in  perpetuating  the 
existence  of  the  body  beyond  the  limits  assigned  to  it  by 
nature.4 

Among  the  tribes  of  North  America,  unless  the  rites  of  burial 


1  4  Churchill,  Coll.  Voy.,  705.  a  Views  of  Nature,  171. 

3  Arriaga,  40-41.  4  I  Prescott's  Peru,  33-34. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  165 

were  properly  performed,  many  of  them  thought  the  spirits  of 
the  dead  wandered  upon  the  earth  in  great  unhappiness.  Hence 
arose  their  solicitude  to  get  possession  of  the  bodies  of  the 
slain.1  Among  the  Ottawas  a  great  famine  was  thought  to 
have  been  produced  on  account  of  the  failure  of  some  of  their 
tribesmen  to  perform  these  burial-rites.  After  having  repaired 
their  fault  they  were  blessed  with  an  abundance  of  provisions.2 

Many  of  the  nomadic  tribes  carried  their  dead  with  them  in 
their  migrations.  Heckewelder  gives  a  curious  instance  of  this 
in  the  following  words  : 

"  These  Nanticokes  had  the  singular  custom  of  removing  the 
bones  of  their  deceased  friends  from  the  old  burial-place  to  a 
place  of  deposit  in  the  country  they  now  dwell  in.  In  earlier 
times  they  were  known  to  go  from  Wyoming  and  Chemenk  to 
fetch  the  bones  of  their  dead  from  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Mary 
land,  even  when  the  bodies  were  in  a  putrid  state,  so  that  they 
had  to  take  off  the  flesh  and  scrape  the  bones  clean  before  they 
could  carry  them  along.  I  well  remember  having  seen  them 
between  the  years  1750  and  1760  loaded  with  such  bones, 
which,  having  flesh  on  them,  caused  a  disagreeable  stench  as 
they  passed  through  the  town  of  Bethlehem."  3 

This  disposition  of  each  tribe  to  cling  to  the  earthly  remains 
of  their  kindred  would  originate  the  custom  of  burial  in  gentes 
or  families.  We  find  a  good  deal  of  evidence  to  show  that  this 
was  done  in  early  times.  Mr.  Morgan  thinks  that  formerly  a 
tendency  existed  to  bury  in  this  way.  This  practice  he  dis 
covered  at  Lewiston  among  the  Tuscaroras,  where  the  beaver, 
bear,  and  gray-wolf  gentes  buried  separately.  The  Choctaws 
and  Cherokees  kept  separate  and  apart  the  bones  of  each  gens, 
and  the  ark  containing  the  bones  had  the  family  totem  marked 
upon  it.  Among  the  Onondagas  and  Oneidas  the  practice  sur 
vived  to  recent  times.4  Among  the  Hurons  the  same  practice 
prevailed.  In  the  Jesuit  Relations  an  elaborate  annual  cumula- 


1  Morgan's  League,  175.  2  Kip's  Jesuit  Missionaries,  33. 

3  Heckewelder,  75,  seq.  *  Morgan's  Ancient  Society,  83-84. 


1 66  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

tive  burial  of  the  bear  gens  of  the  Hurons  is  described.  Among 
the  tribes  of  South  America,  where  hut-burial  was  so  prevalent 
as  it  was,  the  house  of  each  family  became  its  burial-place. 

The  place  of  sepulture  and  the  manner  of  disposing  of  the 
dead  vary  greatly  according  to  locality.  The  influence  of  cli 
mate  is  apparent,  also  the  occupation  of  the  people,  also  the 
degree  of  progress  they  have  made  from  savagery.  The  Eskimos 
prefer  an  elevated  and  remote  situation  for  the  tomb,  and  a 
woman  waving  a  light  follows  the  corpse,  which  has  been  taken 
out  of  the  house  through  a  window,  and  not  the  usual  en 
trance  ;  or,  if  living  in  tents,  an  opening  is  made  in  the  back 
part  of  the  tent.  On  the  way  to  the  place  of  interment  she 
cries,  "  Here  thou  hast  nothing  more  to  hope  for !  "x  A  super 
stitious  fear  of  the  spirit  of  the  dead  is  here  plainly  shown  in 
the  custom  of  carrying  the  body  out  of  another  beside  the 
ordinary  exit,  and  also  in  their  address  to  the  dead,  which  is 
not  certainly  very  hospitable.  Sometimes  the  body  is  buried 
in  the  ground,  beneath  a  covering  of  fur  or  sods,  over  which 
heavy  stones  are  placed  as  a  protection  against  foxes  and  birds.2 
The  Eskimos  do  not  generally,  however,  inter  the  dead,  but  ele 
vate  them  above  the  earth.  In  the  Yukon  territory  the  body 
is  doubled  up  in  a  box,  and  elevated  above  the  ground  on  four 
posts.3  Sometimes  it  is  enclosed  in  a  standing  posture  in  a 
circle  of  sticks,  looking  much  like  a  cask.4  The  Ingalik  graves 
sometimes  look  like  an  old-fashioned  bedstead,  with  four  posts 
supporting  the  box  or  coffin.  The  Tuski  carry  the  dead  out 
through  a  hole  cut  in  the  back  of  the  hut,  which  is  immediately 
closed  up,  that  the  spirit  may  not  find  its  way  back.  Crema 
tion  sometimes  occurs  among  them,  but  the  dead  are  generally 
suspended  above  ground,  because  if  buried  the  bears  would  dig 
them  up.5  Some  are,  however,  buried  with  the  head  above 
the  surface.6 

The  external  surroundings  have  had  much  influence  among 

1  I  Crantz,  217.  2  Lyon's  Journal,  371. 

3  Ball's  Alaska,  17.  «  Ih.,  95. 

s  Ib.,  382.  6  Hooper's  Tuski,  221. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  1 6; 

wild  tribes  upon  their  burial-customs.  Where  there  is  no  soil, 
as  in  many  places,  interment  is  impracticable.  Where  there 
are  no  trees  and  but  little  drift-wood,  cremation  is  impossible, 
and  the  natives  are  compelled  to  expose  their  dead  on  some 
hill-side.  In  the  Yukon  valley,  just  below  the  surface,  the  soil 
is  permanently  frozen  and  excavation  extremely  difficult,  but 
timber  abounds,  and  the  bodies  are  placed  in  wooden  coffins 
and  suspended  on  posts  out  of  the  reach  of  wild  beasts.  Where 
the  soil  is  unfrozen  and  there  are  no  obstacles  to  digging,  in 
terment  is  practised.  Among  the  Kaniag  and  Aleut  branches 
of  the  Eskimos  the  dead  were  mummified.  The  body  was  pre 
pared  by  making  an  opening  in  the  pelvic  region  and  removing 
the  internal  organs,  and  the  cavity  was  stuffed  with  dry  grass 
and  placed  in  running  water  to  wash  away  the  fatty  portions, 
and  the  body  after  preparation  wrapped  in  several  folds  of  skins 
and  furs,  and  then  consigned  to  caves  and  rock  shelters,  which 
were  shunned  by  the  living.  There  was  a  cave  on  the  Four 
Mountain  Islands,  which  was  the  mausoleum  of  a  chief  and 
three  children,  since  which  the  place  has  been  abandoned  by 
the  natives.  Those  Kadiaks  who  hunted  the  whale  formed  a 
caste  by  themselves,  and  their  bodies  were  preserved  with  re 
ligious  care  and  secreted  in  caves  only  known  to  the  posses 
sors,  because  if  not  kept  secret  they  would  be  stolen  by  other 
whalers  to  cut  up  for  fetichistic  purposes.  The  Aleuts  often 
laid  the  dead  in  the  clefts  of  the  rocks,  but  they  were  generally 
placed  in  boat-shaped  coffins  and  suspended  to  poles.  Chil 
dren  were  sometimes  kept  in  the  house,  where  the  fond  mother 
would  continue  to  watch  carefully  over  them  and  wipe  away 
the  mould.1  The  Thlinkeets  suspended  their  shamans  in  boxes, 
but,  with  that  exception,  buried  their  dead.  Before  burning  a 
warrior,  however,  they  cut  off  his  head  and  kept  it  in  a  box, 
which  was  placed  over  the  box  containing  his  ashes.2 

The  Santees  made  rude  attempts  at  embalming,  but  usually 
exposed  the  body  until  the  flesh  could  be  scraped  off,  when  the 

1  Ball's  Alaska,  390.  2  I  Bancroft,  113. 


1 68  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

flesh  was  burned ;  then  the  bones  were  carefully  preserved  in  a 
wooden  box  and  oiled  every  year.  They  have  preserved  them 
in  some  instances  for  many  ages.  When  an  Indian  was  slain  in 
battle,  however,  the  body  was  generally  covered  with  a  tumu 
lus  of  stones  and  sticks.1  The  Root-diggers  seem  to  have  prac 
tised  cremation,2  which  appears  to  have  been  almost  universal 
among  the  California  tribes.  They  assigned  as  the  reason  for 
this  custom  the  prevention  of  putrefaction  and  destruction  of 
the  body  by  insects.3  A  few  mummies  in  remarkable  preserva 
tion  have  been  found  among  the  Chinooks  and  Flatheads. 
They  were  generally  placed  in  canoes  on  elevated  ground,  with 
all  their  implements  around  them.4 

The  Mandans  never  bury  the  dead,  but  place  the  bodies  on 
scaffolds  just  out  of  the  reach  of  wolves  and  dogs.  Near  the 
village  there  was  always  a  group  of  these  scaffolds,  resembling 
a  city  of  the  dead.  The  body  was  carefully  and  thoroughly 
bandaged,  and  then  placed  upon  a  scaffold  facing  the  east.  The 
mourners  spent  much  of  their  time  under  these  scaffolds. 
When  the  scaffolds  fell,  all  the  bones  but  the  skulls  were  buried. 
These  were  collected  and  placed  in  circles  of  a  hundred  or 
more  on  the  prairie. 

Among  the  tribes  about  the  Santa  Fe  trail  suspension  in  high 
trees  is  very  common.  If  buried,  the  wolves  dug  them  up.5 
The  same  practice  prevails  among  the  Dacotahs  and  Western 
Ojibways.  The  bones  and  hairs  are  gathered,  after  the  flesh  is 
gone,  and  interred.  Suspension  was  practised  by  many  of  the 
tribes  on  the  Columbia  River,  the  body  having  first  been  placed 
in  a  canoe.6 

Although  the  Dacotahs  practise  suspension  usually,  they 
sometimes  inter,  and  in  a  sitting  posture,  as  a  sign  that  the 
man  has  been  killed  in  war.  The  common  practice  among  the 
Indians  of  relating  the  brave  deeds  of  such  and  addressing  the 
corpse  probably  suggested  the  placing  them  in  a  convenient  pos- 


1  4  Schoolcraft,  156.  2  4  ib.,  225.  3  5  ib.,  217. 

*  5  ib.,  693.  s  i  ib.,  262.  6  I  ib.,  217. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  169 

ture  for  these  ceremonies.  Once  a  year  the  Dacotahs  gather 
the  bones  of  the  dead  for  general  burial.  When  they  inter, 
they  say  that  the  little  red  squirrel  sometimes  devours  the 
corpse,  and  for  this  reason  they  will  not  eat  that  animal.  Of 
this  curious  reason  for  the  abstention  from  animal  flesh  I  will 
speak  further  under  the  head  of  animal  worship.  A  remarkable 
mode  of  burial  was  seen  in  the  neighborhood  of  Kenosha,  Wis 
consin.  Two  Indians  were  set  in  the  ground  in  a  standing  or 
upright  posture,  and  all  of  their  bodies  above  their  waists  pro 
truded  above  the  surface  of  the  ground,  where  they  could  see 
what  was  going  on.  The  progress  of  decay  had  already  de 
prived  one  of  the  bodies  of  its  head  when  seen  by  the  whites. 

When  a  Comanche  warrior  dies,  he  is  buried  on  the  summit 
of  a  high  hill  in  a  sitting  posture,  with  his  face  to  the  east,  and 
his  buffalo  robe  and  all  his  scanty  wardrobe  with  him.  His  best 
horses  also  are  killed,  and  the  remainder  of  his  animals  have 
their  manes  and  tails  shaved  close,  and  the  women  of  the  family 
crop  their  hair,  as  a  symbol  of  affliction  and  mourning.  After 
the  death,  the  relatives  and  friends  of  the  deceased  assemble 
morning  and  evening  outside  the  camp,  where  they  cry  and 
cut  themselves  with  knives  for  half  an  hour  or  more,  and  this 
sometimes  lasts  for  a  month.  When  an  ordinary  person  dies, 
the  corpse  is  buried  immediately.  The  death  of  a  young  war 
rior  is  always  greatly  lamented,  and  the  mourning  ceremonies 
continue  a  long  time;  but  when  an  old  man  dies  they  only 
mourn  for  him  a  few  days.1 

Says  La  Hontan  of  the  Northern  nations,  "  As  soon  as  a 
savage  dies  he  is  dressed  as  neatly  as  can  be,  and  his  relations 
and  slaves  (captives)  come  and  mourn  over  him.  When  the 
corpse  is  dressed,  they  set  it  upon  a  mat  in  the  same  posture  as 
if  the  person  were  alive,  and  his  relations  being  set  around  him, 
every  one  in  his  turn  addresses  him  with  a  harangue,  recount 
ing  all  his  exploits  as  well  as  those  of  his  ancestors.  He  that 
speaks  last  expresses  himself  to  this  purpose:  'You  sit  now 

1  Marcy's  Army  Life  on  the  Border,  56. 


I  yo  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

along  with  us,  and  have  the  same  shape  that  we  have;  you 
want  neither  arms,  nor  head,  nor  legs,  but  at  the  same  time  you 
cease  to  be,  and  begin  to  evaporate  like  the  smoke  of  a  pipe. 
Who  is  it  that  talked  with  us  but  two  days  ago  ?  Sure  'twas 
not  you,  for  then  you  would  speak  to  us  still.  It  must  there 
fore  be  your  soul,  which  is  now  lodged  in  the  great  country  of 
souls  along  with  those  of  our  nation.'  After  they  have  made 
an  end  of  their  harangues,  the  male  relations  remove  to  make 
room  for  the  female  friends,  who  make  him  the  like  compli 
ment.  This  done,  they  shut  the  corpse  up  twenty-four  hours 
in  the  hut  for  the  dead,  and  during  that  time  are  employed  in 
dances  and  feasts,  which  are  far  from  being  a  mournful  show. 
After  the  twenty-four  hours  are  expired,  the  slaves  of  the  de 
ceased  person  carry  his  corpse  upon  their  backs  to  the  burying- 
place,  where  it  is  laid  upon  stakes  that  are  ten  feet  high,  in  a 
double  coffin  of  bark,  with  his  arms  and  some  pipes,  with 
tobacco  and  Indian  corn  put  up  in  the  same  coffin.  When  the 
slaves  are  carrying  the  corpse  to  the  burying-place,  the  male  and 
female  relations  accompany  them,  dancing  all  the  while,  and  the 
rest  of  the  slaves  of  the  deceased  person  carry  some  baggage, 
which  the  relations  present  to  the  dead  person  and  lay  upon 
his  coffin."  J 

The  Assiniboins,  like  several  other  tribes  of_the  great 
American  deserts^jiever  bury  their  dead,  but  suspend  them  by 
thongs  of  leather  between  the  branches  of  the  great  trees,  or 
expose  them  on  scaffoldings  sufficiently  high  to  place  the  body 
out  of  reach  of  the  voracious  wild  animals.  The  feet  of  the 
corpses  are  turned  toward  the  rising  sun,  and  when  the  trees 
or  scaffoldings  fall  through  old  age,  the  bones  are  collected  and 
buried  religiously  within  a  circle  formed  of  heads.  This  sacred 
deposit  is  guarded,  as  among  the  Mandans,  by  medicine-trees 
or  posts,  from  which  amulets  or  medicine-bags  are  suspended. 

The  practice  of  suspension  undoubtedly  arose  from  a  desire 
to  prevent  animals  from  devouring  the  dead.  Carelessness 

1  2  La  Hontan,  54, 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  171 

about  the  preservation  of  the  dead  seldom  occurs  among  the 
Northern  tribes.  There  are  only  a  few  instances  mentioned 
among  all  the  tribes  of  America  where  an  attempt  was  not 
made  to  prevent  the  destruction  of  the  dead  by  animals. 

The  Chippewyans  had  a  great  aversion  to  being  buried  in 
the  ground.  The  idea  of  being  eaten  by  the  worms  was  hor 
rible  to  them.  They  enclosed  the  body  in  hollow  wood,  which 
they  hung  to  trees.  The  widow  was  obliged  to  remain  near 
the  body  for  one  year,  to  keep  away  animals.  When  nothing 
but  the  bones  were  left  they  were  burned,  and  the  ashes  kept  in 
a  small  box.1  If  their  dead  had  been  wicked  or  unpopular  in 
life,  then  such  care  would  not  be  bestowed  upon  them,  but  they 
would  be  burned  forthwith.2 

The  Ojibways  interred  with  the  head  toward  the  west,  and 
built  a  tomb  of  poles  placed  lengthways.  If  the  deceased  was 
a  husband,  the  widow  ran  zigzag  toward  home,  dodging  be 
hind  trees  to  elude  the  spirit  of  her  dead  husband.  For  several 
nights  they  rattled  at  the  door,  in  order  to  frighten  away  his 
spirit.  Some  hung  up  scarecrows  to  flutter  in  the  wind,  im 
agining  the  spirit  to  be  as  timid  as  themselves.3  When  the 
ground  was  frozen  and  it  was  almost  impossible  to  penetrate 
the  surface,  they  wrapped  the  corpse  in  skins  or  bark  and  hung 
it  on  a  tree  beyond  the  reach  of  wolves  and  foxes.  When  the 
bones  fell  to  the  ground  they  were  gathered  and  buried.4 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  among  the  Northern  tribes  all  the 
various  kinds  of  burial  were  resorted  to,  yet  interments  were 
less  frequent,  because  during  many  months  in  the  year  they 
could  not  be  made.  In  many  cases  those  accustomed  to  inter 
in  the  summer  would  burn  or  otherwise  dispose  of  the  dead 
in  winter.  Cremation  appears  to  have  been  the  most  usual 
method  of  disposing  of  the  dead  among  most  of  these  Northern 
tribes.  The  reasons  that  led  to  this  were  that  it  was  the  easiest 
and  quickest  mode  of  disposing  of  the  more  destructible  parts 


1  Smithsonian  Rep.,  1866,  319.  2  Ib.,  326. 

3  Jones's  Ojibways,  98-100.  4  Ib.,  100. 


I  -2  PRIMITIVE   SUPERSTITIONS. 

of  the  body,  and  the  indestructible  were  reduced  to  less  bulk, 
so  that  they  might  be  disposed  of  or  carried  more  easily.  Their 
flesh  was  thus  saved  from  the  devouring  worm,  or  from  being 
eaten  by  the  birds  or  other  animals.  The  curious  custom  pre 
vailed  to  some  extent  of  drinking  the  ashes  of  relatives,  by 
which  superstitious  practice  the  spirit  of  the  deceased,  or  a  part 
of  it,  was  supposed  to  be  absorbed  and  assimilated  by  the  spirit 
of  the  person  drinking  the  ashes.  For  the  same  reason  these 
:  e  often  smeared,  when  moistened,  over  the  bodies  of 
the  living.  Among  the  California  tribes  cremation  was  almost 
universal.  The  weird  and  showy  spectacle  undoubtedly  added 
much  to  the  interest  taken  in  cremation,  as  I  find  among  tribes 
using  this  method  that  the  attendance  was  generally  large  at 
ceremonies.  Another  advantage  of  cremation  was  that 
thereby  the  personal  effects  of  the  deceased,  which  were  gen 
erally  sacrificed,  were  so  disposed  of  that  they  could  not  be 
stolen,  as  they  frequently  were  when  deposited  with  the  body 
in  exposed  places. 

Passing  to  the  customs  of  the  Southern  tribes,  we  find  them 
vary  much  from  those  of  the  North,  where  a  rude  fear  of  spirits 
but  has  not  developed  into  worship. 

The  Mosquitos  deposit  the  body  in  a  canoe,  in  which  they 
place  a  spear,  bow,  and  paddle.  If  a  widow  survives,  she  sup 
plies  her  dead  husband  with  food  for  a  year,  after  w?hich  she 
carries  his  bones  on  her  back  in  the  daytime  and  sleeps  with 
them  at  night  for  another  year.  After  this  they  are  deposited 
in  the  house.1 

Among  the  wild  tribes  of  Central  America  interment  and 
cremation  were  both  practised.  The  custom  prevailed  to  some 
extent  of  placing  the  body  in  a  hut  or  primitive  temple  and 
there  offering  sacrifices  to  it  as  long  as  anything  but  the  bones 
remained.  In  the  higher  civilizations  of  America  a  more  elab 
orate  system  of  sacrifices  was  gradually  being  developed,  and 
great  monuments  and  temples  were  built  over  the  remains  of 

1  I  Bancroft,  744. 


B  URIAL-  CUSTOMS.  1 73 

dead  heroes.  In  Peru,  embalmment  was  a  common  mode  of 
preserving  the  dead  caciques.  It  was  also  practised  to  some 
extent  in  the  provinces  of  Central  America,  where  slow  fires  of 
herbs  were  built  under  the  body ;  it  was  thus  gradually  dried, 
until  only  skin  and  bones  remained.  These  were  then  dressed 
and  adorned  with  ornaments  of  gold,  jewels,  and  feathers,  and 
placed  in  an  apartment  of  his  palace,  where  the  remains  of  his 
ancestors  were  kept.  Quinantzin,  monarch  of  Tezcuco,  who 
died  after  a  long  and  prosperous  reign,  in  the  thirteenth  cen 
tury,  was  burned  with  great  pomp  and  ceremony,  and  his  ashes 
placed  in  an  emerald  urn.  The  Aztecs  were  very  particular 
about  the  disposal  of  their  dead.  The  monarchs  were  often 
embalmed  by  taking  out  the  bowels  and  replacing  them  with 
aromatic  substances.  The  process  was  not  complete,  and  only 
served  temporarily  while  the  tedious  ceremonies  of  having  the 
dead  equipped  properly  for  the  long  journey  were  being  per 
formed.  Hence  no  remains  of  mummies  are  found.1  The 
body  was  then  burned  Cremation  was  a  very  ancient  custom 
among  the  Nahua  nations.  It  appears  to  have  been  practised 


in  the  early  times  by  the  migrating  tribes.  The  ashes  could 
thus  be  easily  carried,  and  the  bodies  preserved  from  desecra 
tion! The  Chichemecs  burned  their  kings  who  were  killed  in 
battle,  and  thus  their  ashes  were  carried  home  with  convenience 
and  safety.  There  is  much  cvHence  to  show  that  the  Toltecs 
_practised_  mtejment  in  ordinary  cases,  and  that  the  Aztecs  in- 
produced  the  general  use  of  cremation.  The  later  usage  was 
to  burn  all  except  those  who  died  a  violent  death  or  of  certain 
diseases,  and  those  under  seventeen  years  of  age.  The  Tlascal- 
tecs  and  Aztecs  practised  cremation.2  The  altar  devoted  to  the 
burning  was  doubtless  one  attached  to  the  temple  of  the  deity 
who  presided  over  the  dead.3  Upon  this  altar  the  body  was 
laid  in  full  array,  with  all  those  things  set  apart  to  him  for  his 
future  use,  and  the  funeral  pyre  was  started.  A  few  devoted 
themselves  to  following  the  deceased  into  the  other  world,  to 

1  I  Bancroft,  779.  2  2  ib.,  609.  3  Ib. 

12 


174  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

minister  to  his  wants.  The  number  continually  increased  dur 
ing  the  bloody  rule  of  the  Aztecs,  until,  at  the  funeral  of  Neza- 
hualpilli,  royal  sage  of  Tezcuco,  in  1515,  two  hundred  males 
and  one  hundred  females  were  immolated.  After  the  body  had 
been  burned,  the  ashes,  bones,  and  jewelry  were  placed  in  an 
urn  with  the  hair  of  the  deceased.1  They  were  often,  however, 
placed  in  an  image  of  the  deceased. 

Among  the  Toltecs,  wTiere~trre~  practice  of  interment  was 
common,  large  vaults  of  stone  and  lime  were  used.  Among 
the  Aztecs  the  funerals  of  the  subjects  were  attended  with  less 
pomp  than  those  of  the  rulers  and  privileged  classes.  They 
were  wrapped  in  mantles  bearing  the  image  of  their  professional 
deity  upon  them, — the  warrior  with  the  mantle  of  the  war  god, 
the  merchant  and  artisan  with  that  of  the  patron  deity  of  his 
trade.  The  drunkard  would,  in  addition,  be  covered  with  the 
robe  of  the  god  of  wine,  and  the  adulterer  with  the  robe  of  the 
god  of  lasciviousness.  If  burned,  the  robes  were  generally 
given  to  the  temples ;  but  if  buried,  placed  with  the  body. 
People  who  had  died  a  violent  death,  or  with  leprosy,  tumors, 
itch,  gout,  dropsy,  and  women  who  died  in  childbed,  were  not 
burned,  but  interred  in  special  graves.2  These  exceptions  to  the 
general  rule  of  cremation  were  probably  due  to  the  impure 
condition  of  the  body,  which  was  not  in  a  fit  condition  to  be  so 
soon  spiritualized.  A  trader  who  died  on  a  journey  was  placed 
in  a  basket  and  hung  on  a  pole  or  tree.3  ^When  the  death  was 
reported,  however,  to  his  family,  the  funeral  ceremonies  were 
conducted  with  full  pomp  over  the  image  of  the  deceased, 
which  was  made  for  the  occasion.  Among  those  people  who 
differed  from  the  Aztecs  in  funeral  ceremonies  were  the  Teo 
Chichemecs,  who  interred  their  dead.  In  Goazacoalco  it  was 
the  custom  to  place  the  bones  in  a  basket  as  soon  as  the  flesh 
was  gone  and  hang  them  up  on  a  tree,  so  that  the  spirit  might 
have  no  trouble  in  finding  them.4  Suspensions  were,  however, 
rare  among  the  Nahua  nations.  The  Miztecs,  in  Oajaca,  where 

1  2  Bancroft,  6IO-II.  2  2  ib.,  615-16.          3  2  ib.,  616.          «  2  ib.,  619. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  175 

cremation  does  not  seem  to  have  obtained,  after  much  cere 
mony,  interred  the  dead  in  natural  or  artificial  caves.  The 
bones  in  most  such  cases  appear,  however,  to  have  been  re 
moved  to  the  house  and  temples  when  the  flesh  was  gone. 
The  Mayas  disposed  of  the  bodies  of  their  dead  by  both  burial 
and  cremation.  In  Vera  Paz,  and  probably  throughout  Guate 
mala,  the  body  was  placed  in  the  grave  in  a  sitting  posture, 
with  the  knees  drawn  up  to  the  face.  Their  lords  of  provinces 
were  gorgeously  dressed  for  the  ceremony  and  burial.  Their 
interment  was  generally  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  and  a  mound  raised 
over  them.  The  common  people  had  mounds  raised  over  them 
also,  and  the  height  of  these  mounds  was  proportioned  to  the 
rank  of  the  defunct.1  This  last  fact  will  be  enlarged  upon  when 
those  monuments  of  the  American  tribes  which  appertain  to 
their  religious  life  are  examined.  Among  the  Yucatecs,  only  . 
the  poorer  classes  buried  their  dead.  Their  bodies  were  gen 
erally  interred  in  the  house,  which  was  then  forsaken  by  its 
inmates.2  Such  a  custom  as  this  would  impoverish  and  retain 
in  poverty  the  people  who  practised  it,  and  it  is  probable  that 
the  absence  of  the  ruins  of  all  buildings  except  the  temples 
and  palaces  of  the  lords,  which  has  so  puzzled  the  antiquary,  is 
due  to  this  custom,  which  was  so  common  among  the  nomadic 
tribes,  but  can  be  looked  upon  only  as  a  survival  from  bar 
barism  among  the  civilized  nations  of  Central  America.  The 
Pipiles  interred  the  dead  in  the  house  they  lived  in,  and  the 
high-priest  was  buried  in  a  vault  of  his  own  palace.3  Among 
the  higher  classes  in  Yucatan,  cremation  was  practised,  and  the 
ashes  deposited  in  the  image  of  the  deceased,  which  was  then 
placed  in  a  temple. 

The  Tupinambas  of  Brazil  tied  their  dead  fast,  that  they 
might  not  be  able  to  get  up  and  annoy  their  friends  with  their 
visits.  The  bod}'  was  placed  in  a  pit  dug"  in  the  hut.  Here  it 
was  swung  in  a  hammock,  and  surrounded  with  provisions 
which  the  soul  could  eat  when  it  pleased.4  In  the  case  of  chiefs 

1  2  Bancroft,  800.  2  Ib.  3  Ib.  4  i  Southey,  248. 


i;6  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

the  body  was  generally  anointed  with  honey  and  clothed  with 
a  coat  of  feathers.  The  vault  was  roofed  over,  and  the  family 
continued  to  live  over  it  as  before.1  One  burial-place  was 
found  among  them  where  they  were  interred  and  their  long 
hair  left  above  ground.2  The  Xomanas  and  Passes  burned  the 
dead  and  drank  the  ashes,  thinking  they  received  the  spirit  of 
the  deceased  by  this  act.3  The  Guaranies  buried  their  dead  in 
urns,  which  were  generally  placed  underneath  the  cabin  floor. 
When  they  buried  outside  the  cabin,  a  mound  was  raised  over 
the  place.4  The  Retoronos,  Pechuyos,  and  Guarayos  interred 
the  dead,  but  when  the  flesh  had  decayed  dug  up  the  bones  and 
reduced  them  to  powder,  which  was  mingled  with  maize  in  a 
cake,  which  w-as  then  eaten.5  The  Tapuyas  buried  their  dead 
in  their  own  stomachs.  The  infant  was  eaten  by  the  parents, 
the  adult  by  all  his  relatives.  The  bones  were  reserved  for 
marriage-feasts,  when  they  were  powdered,  and  taken  as  the 
most  precious  thing  that  could  be  offered.  The  reader  will 
probably  infer  the  incentive  to  this  custom.  Whilst  this 
species  of  cannibalism  among  the  Tapuyas  was  the  last  dem 
onstration  of  love,  among  the  Tupis  it  was  confined  to  their 
enemies,  whom  they  devoured  as  the  strongest  mark  of  hatred.6 
The  tribes  on  the  Orinoco  preserved  the  bodies  of  their  dead 
in  baskets,  after  having  placed  them  in  the  river  over-night  for 
the  purpose  of  having  the  carib-fish  strip  off  the  flesh.7  Urn- 
burial  was  used  by  those  skilled  in  pottery.  Some  of  these 
urns  were  large  enough  to  receive  these  bodies  erect.8  The 
Mbayas  interred  the  dead,  unless  the  death  happened  at  a  dis 
tance  from  home,  when  they  hung  the  body  in  a  tree  for  several 
months,  where  it  became  as  dry  as  parchment  and  was  then 
removed.9  Among  the  Patagonians  the  customs  vary  consider 
ably,  but  interment  was  the  most  common  practice.  The  body 
was  wrapped  up  and  carried  to  the  grave,  which  was  a  hole 
dug  in  the  earth.  If  a  warrior,  this  was  made  so  that  the  grave 

1  i  Southey,  248.  2  3  ib.,  318.  3  3  ib.,  722. 

*3ib.,  165.  s3ib.,  204.  6  lib.,  379. 

7  I  ib.,  631.  8  I  ib.,  165.  9  i  ib.,  392. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  177 

could  be  opened  yearly  and  the  skeleton  cleaned  and  reclothed 
by  an  old  matron  whose  special  duty  it  was  to  perform  this 
office  for  the  dead.  Suspension  of  the  body  on  platforms,  how 
ever,  was  not  uncommon  until  the  flesh  separated  from  the 
bones.1  The  Mapuches  interred  the  dead,  and  with  the  face  to 
the  west,  their  spirit-land.2 

The  Abipones  pull  out  the  heart  and  tongue  of  the  dead  and 
boil  them  and  feed  them  to  the  dogs,  that  the  author  of  his 
death  may  soon  die  also,  for  they  think  death  is  always  pro 
duced  by  sorcery.  The  body  is  then  wrapped  in  a  hide  and 
bound  with  leather  thongs,  and  carried  quickly  out  of  the 
house  and  interred  in  a  grave,  which  is  covered  with  prickly 
boughs  to  keep  off  tigers.  Around  the  grave  are  placed 
various  useful  articles.  Their  favorite  place  of  burial  is  a  wood, 
whose  umbrageous  shade  is  thought  to  be  delightful.  The 
sacred  character  of  woods  and  groves  in  warm  countries  is  a 
subject  of  deep  interest  if  connected  with  this  custom  of  burial, 
as  it  undoubtedly  is.  The  forests  on  the  banks  of  the  Parana, 
when  re-echoing  the  sounds  of  their  voices,  are  thought  by  the 
Abipones  to  be  haunted  by  the  spirits  of  the  dead.  They  are 
very  zealous  in  preserving  the  bones  of  those  slain  on  the  field 
of  baffle,  and,  having  obtained  the  body,  strip  off  the  flesh, 
which  they  bury  in  the  ground,  and  carry  the  bones  home 
with  reverence.  They  venerate  the  burial-places  of  their  an 
cestors.3 

The  caves  of  Hayti  were  much  used  in  early  times  for  burial 
of  the  dead,  and  afterward  as  temples;4  cremation,  however, 
succeeded  this  mode  of  burial,  the  second  Bohito  having, 
according  to  the  legends,  introduced  this  custom,  which  was 
considered  an  improvement.5 

Many  of  the  Guiana  tribes  carefully  preserved  the  bones  of 
thejdead  after  the  women  had  picked  off  all  the  flesh.  Some 
times  the  body  was  immersed  in  the  water  until  the  bones  had 


1  2  Wood,  542.  2  2  ib.,  565.  3  i  Dobrizhoffer,  271. 

4  i  Rafinesque,  170.  5  i  ib.,  191. 


1 78  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

been  picked  clean  by  fish,  when  they  were  carefully  dried  and 
suspended  in  the  roof  of  the  habitation.1  Sometimes  the  body 
was  buried  in  the  house  and  a  wide  plank  put  over  the  place.2 
Those  slain  in  war  were  interred  by  heaping  over  them  a  mound.3 
The  high-priests  of  the  Pipiles  were  buried  sitting  on  stools  in 
their  own  houses.4 

In  Florida  the  natives  buried  in  the  temples,  in  which  there 
were  wooden  chests  containing  the  bodies  of  the  dead.5  In  one 
mausoleum  at  Talomeco,  which  was  one  hundred  paces  in 
length  and  forty  in  breadth,  with  lofty  roofs  of  reed,  there  were 
benches  upon  which  were  placed  the  wooden  chests,  skilfully 
wrought,  in  which  reposed  the  bodies  of  the  priests  and  chiefs.6 
The  same  custom  prevailed  among  the  Southeastern  tribes  of 
the  United  States,  where  the  temples  were  dedicated  to  the  pres 
ervation  of  the  bodies  of  their  chiefs.  Early  temples  arose  in 
this  way,  and  the  survival  of  such  sacred  burials  in  our  day  is 
seen  in  the  Catholic  altar,  built  upon  and  sanctified  by  the  bones 
of  saints,  and  also  in  the  Mohammedan  shrine.  Among  the 
natives  of  Alabama,  temples  were  discovered  in  their  chief 
towns,  in  which  the  dead  were  deposited  in  baskets  and  boxes.7 
Says  Mr.  Pickett,  "These  bone-houses  were  the  miniature 
temples  of  the  Indians."8 

Among  some  of  these  Southern  tribes  a  mound  was  erected 
over  chiefs  and  priests.  On  the  sea-coast  even  the  common 
people  had  a  shell-mound  thrown  over  them.  In  the  interior 
shell-mounds  were  not  used,  but  large  earth  mounds  take  their 
place,  which  were  dedicated  to  the  inhumation  of  the  general 
dead.  Many  small  mounds  occur,  in  which  one  or  more  bodies 
were  found.  These  were  undoubtedly  used  for  the  burial  of 
a  single  chief  or  priest,  as  above  stated.  The  erection  of  large 
mounds  has  been  gradually  discontinued  since  the  advent  of 
Europeans.  Some  of  the  tribes,  however,  have  continued  the 
practice.  The  Yemassees  slain  by  the  Creeks  in  their  last  de- 

1  Brett,  154.  a  Ib.,  188.  3  Ib.,  341.  •*  4  Herrera,  155. 

s  5  ib.f  315,  318.  6  Jones's  Antiquities, '26. 

7  i  Pickett's  Alabama,  169.  8  I  ib.,  170. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  179 

cisive  battle  were  interred,  and  many  small  mounds  raised  over 
them.1 

The  Carolina  tribes  interred  the  dead  at  first  in  an  artificial 
vault.  When  the  flesh  was  gone  they  took  up  the  bones  and 
placed  them  in  the  temple.  A  fee  was  charged  for  this  admit 
tance  to  the  temple.  These  bones  were  carried  with  them  on 
their  journeys.2  The  Choctaws  placed  their  dead  upon  scaffolds 
until  the  flesh  decayed,  when  the  bones  were  taken  down  and 
put  in  a  chest,  which  was  deposited  in  a  bone-house,  with 
which  each  town  was  provided.3  When  the  bone-house  was 
full,  the  boxes  were  taken  out  and  piled  up,  and  a  mound  raised 
over  them,  forming  a  pyramid.4  The  chiefs  of  the  Cherokees 
were  placed  in  a  sitting  posture  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  and 
a  mound  erected  over  them. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  many  of  the  mounds  among  these 
Southern  tribes  were  erected  over  the  dead  by  the  Indians  in 
habiting  the  country  after  the  discovery.  So  materially  have 
the  customs  and  institutions  of  the  Indians  been  changed  since 
the  discovery,  that  it  has  been  not  only  doubted,  but  even 
denied  by  many  writers,  that  these  mounds  were  constructed  by 
the  immediate  ancestors  of  the  present  Indians.  It  appears, 
however,  from  many  respectable  authorities,  that  many  tribes 
still  continue  to  raise  a  tumulus  over  the  dead,  the  magnitude 
of  which  is  often  proportioned  to  the  rank  and  celebrity  of  the 
deceased.  These  mounds  are  scattered  at  intervals  over  the 
surface  of  both  Americas,  and  neither  by  their  size  nor  by  their 
contents  impress  us,  says  Mr.  Bradford,  "  with  a  high  opinion 
of  the  civilization  of  their  authors." 5 

"  Some  have  supposed  that  the  number  and  magnitude  of  the 
mounds  would  indicate  the  existence  of  a  race  of  men  more 
industrious  than  our  modern  Indians.  A  little  reflection  will 
show  that  the  amount  of  labor  required  in  their  erection  did 
not  surpass  the  common  industry  of  the  savages.  Suppose  a 

1  Bartram's  Travels,  139.  2  Lawson's  Carolina,  181. 

3  Roman's  East  and  West  Florida,  89-90.  4  Bartram,  516. 

s  Bradford's  Antiquities,  18. 


I  So  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

mound  to  be  forty  feet  in  diameter  at  its  base,  and  to  rise  by 
steps  one  foot  in  height  and  a  foot  and  a  half  in  depth  to  the 
height  of  thirteen  feet,  with  a  level  surface  on  the  summit  four 
feet  in  diameter.  It  would  contain  about  six  thousand  two 
hundred  and  thirty-three  cubic  feet  of  earth,  or  a  fraction  less 
than  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  cubic  yards.  To  deposit  on 
the  mound  one  cubic  yard  of  earth  would  be  a  moderate  day's 
labor  for  one  man.  Therefore  the  erection  of  the  mound  under 
consideration  would  employ  two  hundred  and  thirty-one  per 
sons  one  day  only.  Among  the  Indians  the  women  would 
perform  as  much  of  this  kind  of  work  as  the  men.  Within  the 
Indian  territory  we  have  ninety-four  thousand  inhabitants.  One- 
fifth  of  these  or  more  are  competent  to  labor.  This  gives  eigh 
teen  thousand  eight  hundred  laborers.  If  each  of  these  would, 
in  the  course  of  twelve  months,  bestow  only  as  much  labor  on 
the  erection  of  mounds  as  would  amount  to  one  day,  eighty-one 
mounds  would  be  built  in  one  year.  And  if  the  work  should 
progress  at  the  same  rate  with  an  equal  number  of  inhabitants 
for  three  centuries,  twenty-four  thousand  three  hundred  mounds 
would  be  constructed  within  the  Indian  territory.  A  few  re 
flections  of  this  kind  must  satisfy  any  one  that  the  Indians  could 
have  erected  these  mounds." r 

M.  Malte-Brun,  speaking  of  the  earthworks  in  Ohio  and  the 
Northwest,  says  there  is  nothing  to  indicate  on  the  part  of  the 
people  who  originated  these  works  a  greater  degree  of  power 
than  we  should  find  possessed  at  this  very  day  by  the  Iroquois 
or  Ojibways,  if  they  enjoyed  entire  liberty  and  were  at  a  dis 
tance  from  the  Anglo-Americans.  Says  Mr.  Melish,  "  I  saw 
no  reason  to  refer  the  erection  of  the  mounds  to  a  different  race 
or  a  different  state  of  civilization  than  what  is  found  among  the 
Indian  tribes  at  present  in  North  America.  As  to  their  inge 
nuity,  I  really  see  nothing  to  lead  us  beyond  the  present  race 
of  Indians."2 

The  mounds  show  no  more  art  than  might  be  expected  from 

1  McCoy's  Baptist  Missions,  27.  3  2  Melish's  Travels,  104. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  181 

the  present  Indians.  They  are  mere  erections  of  earth,  exhibit 
ing  no  other  trace  of  skill  than  that  most  of  them  are  of  regular 
forms  contained  under  circular  or  right  lines.  Iron  tools  were 
not  used  in  the  formation  of  them.  The  only  circumstance 
which  strongly  discredits  their  having  been  formed  by  the  pro 
genitors  of  the  present  Indians  is  the  immensity  of  the  size  of 
some  of  them  beyond  what  could  be  expected  from  the  sparse 
population  and  the  indolence  of  the  present  race.1 

La  Trobe  says,  "  The  degree  of  civilization  necessary  for  con 
struction  of  mounds  has  always  been  falsely  estimated.  Their 
being  constructed  of  the  superficial  earth  thrown  into  a  heap, 
the  rare  occurrence  of  stone-work  of  the  rudest  kind,  the  com 
parative  insignificance  of  implements  and  ornaments  in  them, 
all  militate  against  the  idea  of  their  having  been  erected  by  a 
people  much  more  civilized  than  the  present  Indians,  and  no 
more  civilized  than  the  Natches."2 

Mr.  Brown,  in  the  "  Western  Gazetteer,"  says,  "  We  obtained 
ample  testimony  that  these  masses  of  earth  [meaning  the 
mounds]  were  the  work  of  a  savage  people."3  The  mounds 
at  Butte  des  Morts  were  of  recent  origin.  The  great  hill  of 
the  dead  was  raised  by  their  survivors  over  the  bodies  of  one 
thousand  warriors  who  perished  in  a  battle  in  I/O6.4  Each  of 
the  other  mounds  was  raised  over  the  grave  of  some  renowned 
chief  who  fell  in  that  battle.5 

Mr.  Lapham  is  of  opinion  that  the  skeletons  in  the  mounds 
could  not  be  very  old,  and  that  all  traces  of  a  skeleton  would 
be  gone  in  a  few  centuries,  and  hence  concludes  that  there  is 
no  probability  that  the  mounds  have  an  antiquity  of  many 
hundred  years.6 

The  present  tribes  continued  after  the  discovery  the  practice 
of  mound-building  so  far  as  to  erect  a  conical  tumulus  over 
their  dead.  Among  the  natives  of  South  Carolina,  the  bones 
of  the  dead,  with  the  articles  to  be  interred  with  them,  were 

1  I  Flint's  Geography.  a  2  La  Trobe's  Rambles  N.  A.,  241-43. 

3  Western  Gazetteer,  58.  •*  Allouez,  3  Smith's  Wisconsin,  262. 

s  i  Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  192.  6  i  ib.,  29. 


1 82  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

placed  upon  the  surface  of  the  ground;  then  they  were  covered 
to  the  depth  of  several  inches  with  a  mixture,  of  charcoal  and 
ashes,  which  was  covered  by  clay,  piled  upon  it  until  a  mound 
was  formed  several  feet  in  height.  The  storms  of  centuries 
would  only  serve  to  beat  more  firmly  together  the  mass  of 
clay  and  indestructible  carbon,  which  thus  formed  a  protection 
to  its  contents.1 

Mr.  Battey  says  that  whilst  among  the  Indians  on  Sulphur 
Creek,  he  noticed  a  small  mound  of  fresh  earth  surmounted  by 
a  buffalo's  skull,  which  had  just  been  erected  over  the  grave  of 
a  young  child.2 

Mr.  Brinton  thinks  the  Florida  mounds  and  all  those  in  the 
Atlantic  States,  and  most  of  those  in  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
were  the  production  of  the  identical  nations  found  there  by 
the  whites.3  Many  cases  of  mound-burial  occurred  after  the 
discovery.  It  was  customary  among  the  tribes  on  St.  John's 
River,  when  a  chief  died  and  his  corpse  was  interred,  to  raise  a 
mound  above  the  grave,  and  place  upon  its  summit  the  conch- 
shell  from  which  he  used  to  drink.4  A  good  many  instances 
are  found  of  the  prevalence  of  the  same  custom  among  the 
tribes  of  the  Northern  United  States  after  the  advent  of  whites. 
The  Indians  of  Canada  erected  a  sort  of  pyramid  over  an 
illustrious  personage.5  Those  Indians  dwelling  in  the  country 
now  embraced  within  the  territory  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey 
and  its  vicinity  buried  their  dead  in  a  sitting  posture  and  cov 
ered  the  grave  with  a  pyramid,  or  mound  of  earth.6  Within 
a  short  time  the  Leavenworth  Ledger,  Kansas,  announced  the 
death  and  burial  of  a  young  Indian  chief  twelve  years  of 
age.  He  was  placed  in  a  sitting  posture  upon  the  surface 
of  the  earth,  surrounded  by  all  his  personal  effects,  and  a 
mound  was  then  thrown  over  the  whole.  Mr.  Featherston- 
haugh  noticed  a  mound  among  the  Osages  which  had  just 
been  raised  over  a  chief,  and  enlarged  from  time  to  time  till 

1  I  Logan's  Upper  South  Carolina,  222.  a  Quaker  among  the  Indians,  142. 

3  Brinton's  Florida,  176.  *  Basanier,  Hist.  Not.,  IO,  seq. 

s  i  Jes.  Rel.,  19.  «  Smith's  N.  J.,  13. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  183 

very  large.1  Mr.  Squier  also  noticed  one  of  modern  date  in 
Belmont  County,  Ohio.2 

Mr.  Bierce  mentions  another  recent  case  of  mound-con 
struction, — an  Indian  named  Nicksaw,  who  was  buried  where 
he  was  killed  and  a  mound  raised  over  him.3 

The  Dacotahs  erected  a  mound  ten  feet  high  over  the  body 
of  the  son  of  one  of  their  chiefs,  who  was  recently  killed  in 
trying  to  make  the  famous  leap  at  the  Red  Pipe-Stone  Quarry.4 

One  of  the  largest  mounds  in  the  country  of  the  Osages, 
says  Mr.  Beck,  "  has  been  thrown  up  on  the  Osage  River  with 
in  the  last  thirty  or  forty  years  by  the  Osages  in  honor  of  one 
of  their  deceased  chiefs."  This  fact  proves  conclusively  the 
original  object  of  these  mounds,  and  refutes  the  theory  that 
they  must  necessarily  have  been  erected  by  a  race  of  men  more 
civilized  than  the  present  tribes  of  Indians.  Were  it  necessary, 
numerous  other  facts  might  be  adduced  to  prove  that  many  of 
the  mounds  are  no  other  than  the  tombs  of  their  great  men,  and 
are  of  recent  origin.5 

It  is  related  by  intelligent  Indian  traders  that  a  custom  once 
prevailed  among  certain  tribes,  on  the  burial  of  a  chief  or  brave 
of  distinction,  to  consider  his  grave  as  entitled  to  the  tribute 
of  a  portion  of  earth  from  each  passer-by,  which  the  traveller 
sedulously  carried  with  him  on  his  journey.  Hence  the  first 
grave  formed  a  nucleus,  around  which,  in  the  accumulation  of 
the  accustomed  tributes  of  respect  thus  paid,  a  mound  was  soon 
formed.  It  also  became  an  honorable  distinction  for  the  dead 
to  be  buried  by  the  side  of  the  chiefs  so  deposited  in  the  first 
mound;  and  as  the  custom  of  earthy  tribute  continued,  the 
mound  increased  in  size,  and  the  irregularity  in  the  shape  and 
size  of  the  burial-places  may  thus  in  a  measure  be  explained.6 

After  a  battle  the  slain  are  collected  in  one  spot,  and  a  large 
mound  of  earth  is  heaped  over  them.  Some  of  these  mounds 
are  very  large.  There  was  one  on  the  road  from  St.  Augustine 

1  Travels,  70.  a  Aboriginal  Monuments  of  N.  Y.,  107. 

3  Summit  County,  138.  *  2  Catlin's  Illus.,  170. 

5  Beck's  Gazetteer,  308.  6  3  Smith's  Hist.  Wis.,  245,  seq. 


1 84  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

to  Tomaka,  which  must  have  covered  two  acres  of  ground. 
Barrows  of  this  kind  are  numerous  over  the  whole  American 
continent,1  and  contain  vast  numbers  of  the  dead.  The  cus 
tom  of  burying  the  remains  of  many  individuals  in  one  spot 
and  heaping  over  them  a  mound  of  earth  was  common  in  re 
mote  times  among  the  wandering  tribes  around  Lakes  Huron 
and  Superior.  The  dead  were  laid  upon  the  bare  rock,  and 
covered  with  stones  to  protect  the  body  from  wild  animals. 
After  a  certain  number  of  years  the  tribe  made  a  gathering  of 
their  dead  and  bore  the  bones  to  a  suitable  resting-place,  where 
earth  existed  in  sufficient  abundance  to  admit  of  a  mound 
being  made  without  difficulty.  This  would  be  easier  in  the 
valleys  of  rivers.2 

Cumulative  burials  instigated  the  erection  of  many  of  the 
large  mounds.  A  mound  at  Vincennes,  Indiana,  showed  un 
doubted  signs  of  cumulative  burial.  In  it  was  found  a  bed  of 
human  bones  closely  packed  and  pressed  together  and  pro 
miscuously  mingled.  A  mound  at  Merom,  Indiana,  had  three 
layers  of  human  bones.  This  cumulative  burial  was  very 
prevalent  among  the  different  tribes.  We  have  already  noticed 
it  among  the  tribes  of  the  Southern  United  States.  It  was  the 
custom  also  among  those  of  the  Northern  States,  especially  the 
Hurons  and  Iroquois,  to  gather  together  annually  the  bones  of 
the  dead  from  the  scaffolds,  trees,  houses,  temples,  rock  shelters, 
or  any  other  places  where  the  bodies  may  have  been  deposited, 
and  bury  them  all  in  one  place.  This  has  undoubtedly  been 
the  cause  and  occasion  of  erecting  many  of  the  large  mounds. 
In  a  mound  in  the  township  of  Beverly,  Upper  Canada,  a 
tumulus  was  discovered  containing  the  remains  of  about  one 
thousand  Indians,  with  all  their  arms  and  cooking-vessels.3  A 
mound  at  St.  Louis  thirty-five  feet  high  was  thrown  over  a 
trench  containing  many  human  bones. 

It  was  the  custom  among  the  tribes  of  Georgia,  when  the 


1  Prince  of  Econchatti,  70-72.  a  I  Hind's  Nar.,  90-91. 

3  Mclntosh's  Book  of  Indians,  312. 


B  URIAL-  CUSTOMS.  1 85 

accumulation  of  bones  was  great,  to  have  a  general  inhumation, 
when  a  mound  was  erected  over  them.1 

The  shell-mounds  along  the  coast  appear  to  have  been  ex 
tensively  used  as  tumuli  for  the  dead.  One  of  these  on  Stall- 
ing's  Island  in  the  Savannah  River,  fifteen  feet  high  and  three 
hundred  long,  contained  hundreds  of  skeletons.2 

In  Shenandoah  County,  on  Mr.  Steenburger's  land,  are  the 
remains  of  an  Indian  mound.  When  first  seen,  it  was  eighteen 
or  twenty  feet  high  and  fifty  to  sixty  yards  in  circumference. 
This  mound  was  literally  filled  with  human  skeletons.3  On 
the  land  of  Mr.  Noah  Keyser,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Hawks- 
bill  Creek,  stand  the  remains  of  a  large  mound.  This,  though 
reduced  by  ploughing,  is  yet  some  twelve  or  fourteen  feet  high 
and  sixty  yards  round  at  the  base.  It  is  found  to  be  literally 
filled  with  human  skeletons,  and  at  every  fresh  ploughing  a  fresh 
layer  of  bones  is  brought  to  the  surface.4 

In  Chile,  the  bones  of  the  dead  are  kept  until  the  time  of 
yearly  burial,  when  the  skeletons  are  placed  in  a  sitting  posture 
in  a  row,  with  all  their  weapons  around  them,  and  earth  is  then 
thrown  over  them.  Sacrifices  are  brought  by  the  people  to 
this  mausoleum,  where  a  priestess  offers  them  to  the  dead.5 

Many  instances  are  given  of  the  erection  over  the  dead  of 
small  mounds  of  stones,  commonly  called  cairns.  Mianton- 
nomah  is  buried  in  the  east  part  of  Norwich,  at  a  place  called 
Sachem's  Plain,  from  the  event  of  his  death,  and  is  buried  on 
the  spot  where  he  was  slain.  But  a  few  years  since,  a  large 
heap  of  stones,  thrown  together  by  the  wandering  Indians, 
according  to  the  custom  of  their  country,  and  as  a  melancholy 
mark  of  the  love  the  Narragansetts  had  for  their  fallen  chief, 
lay  on  his  grave.6 

The  Patagonians  raised  stone-heaps  over  the  dead,  the  size 
of  which  depended  upon  the  importance  of  the  deceased.7 

Sometimes  the  tumuli  were  made  of  dried  twigs  arranged 

1  Jones's  Antiquities,  191-92.  2  Ib.,  197-98. 

3  Kercheval's  Valley  of  Virginia,  50.  4  Ib.,  57. 

5  2  Molina,  380-81.  6  Gardener's  Pequot  War.  ^  Musters,  91. 


1 86  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

in  a  conical  pile,  which  was  occasionally  ten  feet  high  and 
twenty-five  in  circumference.  The  Pimos  buried  their  dead 
in  the  sitting  posture,  and  raised  a  mound  of  sticks  and  stones 
over  them.1 

Mr.  Macauley  says  the  Iroquois  raised  heaps  of  stones  over 
the  bodies  of  distinguished  chiefs.2 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  many  burial-mounds  of  earth  or 
other  material  have  been  erected  among  the  tribes  of  the  United 
States  since  the  advent  of  whites.  There  is  much  evidence  to 
show  that  in  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  South  America 
mounds  have  been  erected  over  the  dead  by  the  natives  in 
habiting  those  countries  within  the  historic  period  and  since 
the  discovery.  In  Guatemala  they  buried  their  dead  by  raising 
over  them  mounds  of  earth  corresponding  in  height  with  the 
importance  of  the  deceased.3 

The  Indians  of  Quito,  says  Ulloa,  threw  so  much  earth  on 
the  body  as  to  form  a  tumulus  in  imitation  of  nature  with  its 
mountains  and  eminences.  The  magnitude  of  these  indicated 
the  dignity  or  riches  of  the  person  interred.4  Within  the 
jurisdiction  of  Antioquia  they  piled  up  such  masses  of  earth  in 
making  their  tombs  that  they  looked  like  small  hills.5  Other 
Peruvian  tombs  were  mounds  of  conical  or  quadrilateral  shape 
heaped  up  during  the  mourning  period.  The  size  of  the  tumu 
lus  shows  the  fortune  of  the  deceased.6  Says  Mr.  Prescott  of 
the  Peruvians,  "  Vast  mounds  of  an  irregular  or  more  frequently 
oblong  shape,  penetrated  by  galleries,  were  raised  over  the 
dead,  whose  dried  bodies  have  been  found  generally  in  a  sitting 
posture."7 

Most  of  the  graves  near  Truxillo  externally  exhibit  the 
figure  of  a  loaf  of  sugar  and  are  hollow  within.8 

Graves  similar  to  these  are  found  in  the  valley  of  Espiritu 
Santo,  which  have  been  erected  in  recent  times. 

1  Brown,  Apache  Country,  113.  a  2  History  of  New  York,  239. 

3  Ximenez,  213.  •*  I  Ulloa,  461. 

5  Cieza,  ch.  63.  6  Joaq.  Acosta,  126. 

7  i  Prescott's  Peru,  90.  8  2  Biblioteca  Peruana,  160. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  187 

The  general  erection  of  tumuli  over  the  dead,  the  construction 
of  vast  terraced  pyramidal  piles  for  sacred  purposes,  seem  to 
have  marked  the  steps  of  that  primitive  people  vaguely  de 
nominated  the  Toltecs,  whose  more  imposing  monuments  still 
rear  their  spectral  fronts  among  the  dense  tropical  forests  of 
Central  America  and  Yucatan,  but  whose  ruder  —  because 
earlier — structures  throng  the  fertile  alluvions  which  border 
the  great  Mississippi  and  its  giant  tributaries, — silent  but  most 
conclusive  illustrations  of  the  grand  law  of  development.1 

Peru,  Mexico,  and  Yucatan  contain  so  many  sepulchral 
mounds  it  would  be  tedious  to  describe  them.  A  large  group 
in  Yucatan,  near  the  ruins  of  Ichmal,  extended  for  miles 
around  in  every  direction  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach.  Some 
were  forty  feet  high.  When  several  of  them  were  opened,  they 
were  found  to  contain  rooms  in  which  were  sitting  the  skele 
tons  of  the  dead.2  Near  Otumba,  Mexico,  around  the  pyramid 
of  the  sun,  were  grouped  many  small  conical  burial-mounds.3 
The  plains  near  Cayambe,  Peru,  are  covered  with  sepulchral 
tumuli.  The  Indians  laid  a  body  without  burial  on  the  ground, 
and  after  protecting  it  with  a  cover  of  stones  dirt  was  heaped 
over  it.4 

In  three  Kentucky  mounds  evidences  of  cremation  appear. 
They  seem  to  have  been  erected  over  the  ashes  and  calcined 
bones  of  the  dead.  A  large  mound  at  Marietta,  Ohio,  covered 
blackened  earth,  charcoal,  and  a  stone  coffin,  dark  and  stained 
with  smoke,  which  demonstrated  that  the  funeral  obsequies 
had  been  celebrated  with  fire.  Another  near  Marietta  enclosed 
calcined  human  remains.5 

It  is  extremely  doubtful  whether  a  great  error  has  not  been 
made  by  many  able  American  archaeologists  in  denominating 
a  class  of  artificial  mounds  altar-mounds.  Many  things  have 
tended  to  lead  them  into  this  error.  The  burial-customs  of  the 
aboriginal  Americans  have  not  been  thoroughly  investigated. 

1  Squier's  New  Mexico  and  California.  2  Norman's  Yucatan,  146. 

3  Bullock's  Mexico,  411.  4  i  Ulloa,  266. 

5  Bradford's  Antiquities,  52-53. 


1 88  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

A  supposed  great  antiquity  has  been  ascribed  to  them;  and  a 
special  race  of  mound-builders  has  been  created  to  furnish 
builders  for  these  great  monuments  of  what  has  been  called  an 
extinct  race.  Whence  they  came,  and  where  they  have  gone, 
has  puzzled  the  brain  of  many  an  antiquarian.  This  imaginary 
people,  with  an  elaborate  ritual  of  sacrifice  offered  on  the  altars 
so  carefully  covered  with  an  abundance  of  earth  to  protect 
them  from  the  sacrilegious  hands  of  barbarian  intruders,  will, 
however,  eventually  be  resolved  into  a  very  primitive  people, 
and  their  sacrificial  altars  turned  into  cremation-pyres,  where 
the  bodies  of  the  dead  were  burned  with  their  worldly  effects, 
and  a  tumulus  erected  over  their  remains.  Upon  most  of  these 
supposed  altars  human  bones  have  been  found ;  in  a  few,  how 
ever,  their  absence  is  noted  by  explorers.  They  may  have 
been  reduced  to  ashes ;  but  it  is  not  necessary  to  account  for 
their  absence  in  this  way  alone,  for  the  custom,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  very  prevalent  of  preserving  the  bones  after  crema 
tion  and  removing  them,  and  among  many  of  the  tribes  they 
were  reduced  to  a  powder,  which  was  used  in  some  liquid  as  a 
drinking  potion  for  the  relatives.  The  altar-mound  theorists 
have  had  to  account  for  the  presence  of  human  bones  by  the 
horrible  rite  of  human  sacrifice.  The  conclusion  that  the 
mounds  of  this  class  were  devoted  to  this  superstitious  rite 
does  not  appear  to  be  satisfactory.  They  rather  appear  to  in 
dicate  that  cremation  was  practised.  The  sacrificial  origin  of 
these  mounds  has  been  inferred  from  the  fact  that  articles  of 
only  one  class  occur  in  them.  This  would  only  indicate  that  a 
division  of  labor  was  established ;  because  with  their  belief  in 
a  future  life,  and  a  continuance  of  all  the  employments  of  the 
present  life,  many  of  the  products  of  any  skilful  person  and 
material  for  new  labor  would  be  deposited  with  such  a  person. 
On  this  subject  of  sacrifice,  running  as  it  does  through  all  their 
ceremonial  life,  I  would  refer  the  reader  to  that  part  of  this 
work  devoted  to  that  subject.  Evidences  have  been  found  of 
cremation  in  Florida  mounds. 

Quite  a  number  of  mounds   near  Mount  Carroll,  Carroll 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  189 

County,  Illinois,  were  opened,  and  calcined  human  bones  with 
charcoal  and  ashes  found  in  each  of  them.  There  was  an  In 
dian  tradition  that  they  were  cremation-mounds.1  In  Virginia, 
a  number  of  stone-heaps  are  found,  oven-like,  containing  the 
bones  of  the  dead  and  bearing  evident  marks  of  fire.  The 
stone-heaps  are  covered  with  earth.  There  is  a  tradition  that 
it  was  the  universal  custom  at  one  time  to  consume  the  bodies 
of  the  dead  with  fire.  This  may  account  for  the  existence  of 
nothing  but  ashes  in  some  of  the  mounds  that  have  been 
opened.2  Quite  a  number  of  such  have  been  found  in  Minnesota, 
some  also  with  calcined  human  bones  and  clay,  showing  marks 
of  intense  heat.3  Sometimes  the  bodies  were  burned,  and  the 
ashes  placed  in  urns  and  deposited  in  mounds.  In  Dubuque 
County,  Iowa,  an  urn  was  taken  from  a  small  mound  containing 
ashes ;  another,  from  a  mound  near  the  State  line  of  Illinois 
and  Wisconsin,  contained  about  a  half-bushel  of  ashes.  Urn- 
burials  are  rare  in  this  part  of  the  country,  however.4 

A  mound  in  Wisconsin  contained  much  charcoal  and  burnt 
clay,  and  stones  almost  calcined  into  quick-lime  by  the  great 
heat.  Some  of  the  bones  of  a  human  being  were  found,  but 
most  of  the  skeleton  had  evidently  been  consumed  at  the  time 
of  the  interment.5 

Near  Red  River  settlement  a  burial-mound  was  excavated, 
and  four  or  five  skulls  found  on  a  floor  of  hard  mud  which 
showed  evidences  of  fire.6 

Says  Mr.  Atwater  of  the  Western  mounds,  "  Nearly  all  the 
bodies  buried  in  the  mounds  were  burnt  first,  before  the  mounds 
were  reared."7 

Mr.  Evans,  who  appears  to  have  spent  much  time  in  inves 
tigating  this  matter,  says,  "  I  have  penetrated  the  centres  of 
many  mounds,  and  the  ashes  and  charcoal  and  human  remains 
lying  in  successive  strata  in  the  mounds,  showing  the  action 

1  Smithsonian  Rep.,  1877,  p.  255.  2  Da-coo-dah,  57. 

3  Ib.,  83.  4  Ib.,  204-10. 

s  Lapham's  Ant.,  28.  6  Smith.  Rep.,  1867,  p.  399. 

7  Atwater's  Antiquities,  381. 
13 


190  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

of  fire,  have  induced  me  to  believe  that  the  mound-builders 
practised  cremation,  and  after  the  rites  were  performed  the  re 
mains  were  covered  with  earth,  each  succeeding  funeral  pyre 
adding  to  the  height  of  the  mound.  The  strata  of  ashes  and 
charcoal  which  I  found  in  all  the  mounds  I  examined  indicated 
that  successive  fires  had  been  kindled,  and  when  the  substances 
were  reduced  to  ashes  they  were  covered  with  earth."1 

In  some  of  the  burial-mounds  the  presence  of  a  layer  of 
baked  clay  above  the  human  remains  leads  to  the  conjecture 
that  fires  were  sometimes  built  for  the  purpose  of  hardening 
this  layer  of  clay.2 

In  a  mound  at  Cincinnati,  human  bones  were  found  imbedded 
in  ashes  and  charcoal,  the  unfailing  signs  of  the  burning  of  the 
deceased.3 

A  large  cremation-furnace,  eighteen  feet  long  and  six  feet 
wide,  was  found  in  a  mound,  fifteen  feet  high,  near  Lancaster, 
Fairfield  County,  Ohio.  In  a  huge  vessel  upon  this  furnace 
twelve  human  skeletons  were  found,  surrounded  with  ashes  and 
charcoal.  In  the  Chilhowee  valley,  Tennessee,  cysts  were  found 
containing  human  bones  and  ashes,  so  placed  as  to  indicate 
that  fire  had  been  used  at  the  burial.  In  some  of  the  mounds 
near  New  Harmony,  Indiana,  the  same  unmistakable  evidences 
of  cremation  appeared.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that  many  of 
those  mounds  called  altar-mounds  in  the  books  on  the  antiqui 
ties  of  America  are  none  other  than  cremation-mounds. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  custom  of  raising  mounds  over 
the  dead  survived  the  advent  of  Europeans,  and  that  many  of 
those  mounds  denominated  altar-mounds  were  thrown  over  the 
remains  of  those  dead  that  had  been  burned,  according  to  the 
prevailing  custom  among  a  large  part  of  the  aboriginal  tribes. 
Cumulative  burials  necessitated  the  magnitude  of  many  mounds, 
and  the  multitude  of  those  thus  cared  for  inspired  the  labor 
necessary. 

Among  the  American  sepulchral  monuments,  the  chulpas,  or 

1  Chicago  Tribune.  *  Short,  37-39.  3  Bradford's  Ant.,  53. 


B  URIAL-  CUSTOMS. 


191 


FIG.  12. 


burial-towers  of  Peru,  are  among  the  most  interesting  of  all  the 
antiquities  of  this  continent  connected  with  sepulture.  Pri 
marily  these  chulpas  consisted  of  cysts  or  excavations  walled 
with  stones,  over  which  was  built  a  tower  with  an  opening 
barely  large  enough  to  admit  the  body  of  a  man  on  a  level  with 
the  surface  of  the  ground.  This  opening  was  toward  the  east. 
These  chulpas  varied  in  height  from  ten  to  twenty-six  feet,  and 
were  often  ornamented  with  stucco-work.  Some  are  round  and 
some  square,1  but  the  interior  plan  is  pretty  much  the  same  in 
all.  Upon  the  floor  human  bones  and  remains  of  pottery  are 
found.  These  tombs  are  common  in  the  Titicaca  region,  and 
usually  stand  in  groups  of  from  twenty  to  one  hundred.  There 
is  a  large  group  of  them  at  Sillustani.  Fig.  12  is  one  of  these 
chulpas,  from  Rivero  and  Tschudi's  "  Peruvian  Antiquities." 
These  chulpas  resemble  the  Oriental  topes.  In  some  of  them 
an  entire  family  appear  to  have 
been  buried,  as  many  as  twelve 
skeletons  being  found  in  them. 
Some  of  them,  however,  which 
had  never  been  opened  before, 
were  opened  by  Mr.  Squier  and 
only  one  skeleton  was  found.2 
He  describes  them  as  follows : 
"  In  some  provinces  they  have 
for  sepulchres  high  towers,  hol 
low  below.  In  some  parts  they 
are  round,  in  some  square. 
They  are  built  half  a  league  or 
more  from  their  towns,  so  that 
they  appear  like  other  and  very 
populous  villages.  The  dead, 
wrapped  up  in  skins  of  the  llama, 
are  deposited  in  them  in  a  sit 
ting  posture.  The  doors  of  the  tombs  are  then  closed."  Mr. 


1  Squier's  Peru,  243-44. 


2  Ib.,  388. 


1 92  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Squier  thinks  the  chulpas  were  built  and  used  by  the  Aymara 
race  only.1 

The  rock-tombs  of  Peru  are  another  interesting  feature  in 
its  antiquities.  The  faces  of  many  of  the  high  cliffs  in  the 
mountainous  parts  are  full  of  ancient  tombs  excavated  in  the 
rock,  within  which  the  dead  were  placed,  and  then  walled  up 
with  stones  and  stuccoed  over  and  painted.  The  region  of 
Ollantaytambo  is  rich  in  these  rock-tombs.  In  many  a  niche 
and  crevice  tier  on  tier  of  these  tombs  are  seen  plastered  up 
like  nests  of  the  mud-swallows.  The  "  steeps  of  Lamentation 
are  literally  speckled  with  the  white  faces  of  these  tombs.  Some 
are  solitary  cells,  others  populous  chambers.  In  this  dry  at 
mosphere  the  bodies  are  preserved  surrounded  with  a  few  rude 
household-utensils."2  At  Chimu  is  found  a  necropolis  consist 
ing  of  chambers  or  vaults  enclosed  in  a  mound,  each  vault 
containing  niches  wherein  were  found  skeletons  elaborately 
clothed  and  plumed.  The  tombs  of  men  of  note  "  were  above 
the  ground,  built  with  unburnt  bricks,  and  round,  like  little 
pigeon-houses,  five  or  six  feet  in  diameter  and  twelve  or  four 
teen  in  height,  arched  like  the  top  of  an  oven,  in  which  the 
dead  were  placed  sitting  and  then  they  were  walled  up.  In 
travelling  through  the  country  there  are  still  many  to  be  seen, 
even  of  those  before  the  conquest  by  the  Spaniards."  3 

The  kings  of  Quito  were  buried  in  a  pyramid,  in  which  their 
embalmed  corpses  were  arranged  in  order,  with  their  earthly 
effects  around  them.  The  manner  of  burying  the  vassals  was 
different.  In  the  south  the  nobles  and  magnates  were  placed 
in  urns,  and  these  urns  deposited  in  the  woods  and  forests. 
The  common  people  were  interred,  or  left  in  caves  or  rock  pro 
tections.  The  openings  to  all  the  sepulchres  are  to  the  west. 
In  some  the  opening  is  small,  and  only  made  as  a  conduit  for 
drink  and  food  leading  to  vases  placed  in  the  sepulchre  for 
their  reception.  Embalmment  of  the  dead  was  confined  to  the 
Inca  class.  The  mummified  bodies  so  numerous  throughout 

1  Squier's  Peru,  389.  2  Ib.,  531-32.  3  Frezier's  Voyage,  178. 


B  URIAL-  CUSTOMS. 


193 


Peru    owe   their   preservation  to   atmospheric  and   other   in 
fluences.1 

The  object  among  all  the  American  tribes,  in  all  their  various 
burial-customs,  was  to  preserve  the  bones  of  the  dead.  The 
belief  underlying  all  these  customs  was  that  the  soul,  or  a  part 
of  the  soul,  dwelt  in  the_  bones.  Language  illustrates  this 
theory.  The  Iroquois  word  for  bone  is  esken ;  for  soul, 
atisken, — literally,  that  which  is  within  the  bone.  In  an  Atha 
pascan  dialect,  bone  is  yani,  soul  is  i-yani.  Mythology  adds 
more  decisive  testimony.  In  one  of  the  Aztec  legends,  after 
one  of  the  destructions  of  the  world,  Xolotl  descended  to 
Mictlan,  the  realm  of  the  dead,  and  brought  thence  a  bone  of 
the  perished  race.  This,  sprinkled  with  blood,  grew  on  the 
fourth  day  into  a  youth,  the  father  of  the  present  race.  Among 
the  Quiches,  the  hero-gods  Hunahpu  and  Xblanque  succumbed 
to  the  darksome  powers  of  death.  Their  bodies  were  burned, 
and  their  bones  ground  to  powder  and  thrown  into  the  waters; 
but  these  ashes,  sinking  to  the  bottom  of  the  stream,  were,  in 
the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  changed  into  handsome  youths,  with 
the  same  features  as  before.  Among  many  of  the  tribes  the 
practice  of  pulverizing  the  bones  of  the  dead  and  mixing  them 
with  the  food  was  defended  by  asserting  that  the  souls  of  the 
dead  remained  in  the  bones  and  lived  again  in  the  living.  Even 
the  animals  were  supposed  to  follow  the  same  law.  Hardly 
any  of  the  hunting  tribes,  before  their  manners  were  vitiated 
by  foreign  influence,  permitted  the  bones  of  game  to  be  broken 
or  left  carelessly  about  the  encampment.  They  were  left  in 
heaps  or  thrown  into  the  water.  The  Yuricares  of  Bolivia 
carried  this  superstition  to  such  an  inconvenient  extent  that 
they  preserved  even  small  fish-bones  from  harm,  saying  the  fish 
would  desert  the  rivers  unless  this  was  done.  The  traveller  on 
our  prairies  often  notices  the  buffalo-skulls  arranged  in  circles 
and  symmetrical  piles  by  the  careful  hands  of  the  native 
hunters.  Among  the  Peruvians,  so  careful  were  they  lest  any 

1  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  200-9. 


I94  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

of  the  body  should  be  lost,  they  preserved  even  the  parings  of 
the  nails  and  clippings  of  the  hair.  Among  the  Choctaws  the 
spirits  of  the  dead  will  return  to  the  bones  in  the  bone-mounds, 
and  flesh  will  knit  together  their  loose  joints,  and  they  shall 
again  inhabit  their  ancient  territory.  The  Peruvians  expected 
the  mummified  body  to  be  again  inhabited  by  its  soul.1 

This  belief  can  be  traced  among  all  the  primitive  peoples  of 

the  world. Among  the  Tartars  the  pyramid  of  horses'  heads 

found  by  Pallas  is  analogous  to  bone-pyramids  of  the  buffalo 
and  deer  in  America.  The  Hebrew  rabbis  taught  that  the 
coccyx  remained  at  death  the  germ  of  a  second  life,  and  would 
develop  into  the  purified  body  as  the  plant  from  the  seed. 

Among  the  Iroquois  the  spirit  stayed  near  the  body  for  a 
time,  and,  unless  burial  was  performed,  was  very  unhappy ;  and 
among  the  Brazilian  tribes  the  spirits  of  the  dead  were  not  at 
rest  when  the  body  was  unburied,  and,  if  they  had  had  a  Creon, 
an  Antigone  would  have  undoubtedly  arisen  to  perform  the 
sacred  rites  of  burial.  It  will  be  noticed,  then,  that  there  was 
no  uniform  custom  prevalent  among  the  American  nations_i_n_ 
their  mode  of  burial,  but  that  diversity  of  custom  prevailed  in 
many  instances  in  the  same  tribe, — that  climate  and  the  nature 
of  the  soil,  and  other  natural  influences,  together  with  thepur-_ 
suits  of  the  various  peoples,  had  their  effect  on  the  formation 
of  burial-customs,  and  these  a  reflex  action  again  on  their  re 
ligious  beliefs  and  superstitions.  Yet  through  it  all  there  are 
plain  indications  of  a  belief  that  the  preservation  of  the  bones 
of  the  dead  in  their  integrity  was  necessary  to  the  peace  and 
happiness  of  the  departed  spirit.  Hence  the  security  of  these 
was  sought  in  all  their  various  customs.  In  the  suspension 
of  the  bodies  in  trees  or  on  scaffolds  or  otherwise,  their  preser 
vation,  after  the  dissolution  of  the  flesh,  was  attended  to.  Jn_ 
cremation,  the  residuum  of  calcined  bones  was  preserved  by 
interment  or  a  deposit  in  urns  or  images  of  the  deceased,  or 
by  heaping  a  mound  over  them.  Interment  in  the  earth  had 

1  Brinton,  276-80. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  195 

the  same  object  in  view,  as  also  in  caves  and_other  secret_and 
protected  places.  Thus  security  is  sought  in  secrecy  or  by  in 
accessibility,  or  both.  Among  the  Chibchas,  sepulchres  were 
concealed  by  trees  planted  for  that  purpose.  The  greatest 
danger  to  the  remains  of  the  dead  arose  from  the  depredations 
of  animals,  yet  enemies  outside  or  inside  the  tribe  or  clan  or 
family  were  much  feared,  the  possession  of  any  part  of  a  living 
or  dead  person  by  one  seeking  revenge  being  looked  upon  with 
exceeding  great  superstitious  fear.  The  origin  and  progress  of 
sorcery  are  traceable  to  this  superstition.  Among  all  primitive 
peoples,  where  a  belief  in  the  renewal  of  life  or  the  resurrection 
exists,  the  peace  and  happiness  of  the  spirit,  which  remains  in 
or  about  the  body,  depend  upon  success  in  preventing  the  body 
or  any  part  of  it  from  being  devoured  or  destroyed  in  any 
manner.  Of  course,  among  peoples  to  whom  the  art  of  pre 
serving  the  bodies  of  the  dead  by  embalming  or  other  means 
was  unknown,  the  destructibility  of  all  but  the  skeleton  or 
bones  was  recognized  as  unavoidable,  and  their  superstition 
must  be  modified  to  that  extent.  It  maintained  itself  and  in 
creased  in  strength  as  to  the  indestructible  parts,  even  including 
the  nails  and  hair,  through  all  the  stages  of  savagery  and  bar 
barism  and  into  our  modern  civilization.  The  caciques  of 
Bogota  were  protected  from  desecration  by  diverting  the  course 
of  a  river  and  making  the  grave  in  its  bed,  and  then  letting  the 
stream  return  to  its  natural  course.  Alaric,  the  leader  of  the 
Goths,  was  secretly  buried  in  the  same  manner.  The  imposing  ^ 
pyramids  of  Mexico,  Peru,  and  the  sepulchral  mounds  of  both 
Americas  were  intended  for,  and  became,  obstacles  to  the  dese 
cration  of  the  remains  of  distinguished  dead,  as  well  as  memorials 
of  their  greatness  ;  but  the  temples  of  the  more  civilized  nations 
mark  the  highest  stage  of  the  progress  of  this  idea  in  America, 

as  elsewhere.     In  these  temples  the  interment  of  heroes  took 
l  -    c\.*veJ  v*\*v 

place,  and  a  priestly  hierarchy  arose  to  guard  and  attend  at  the    0-f  *»e  *• 
sacred  precincts  of  their  shrines,  and  offer  sacrifice  to  iheir  idol 
likenesses  stuffed  with  their  ashes  and  bones.     In  addition  to  (  ^ 
their  religious  care  in  the  preservation  of  the  dead,  their  com- 


196  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

fort  was  also  regarded.  Hence  protections  against  pressing 
earth  or  stones  were  provided  for ;  also  a  way  for  the  spirit  to 
have  access  to  the  body  was  considered  of  vital  importance  by 
most  of  the  aborigines.  Embalming  and  the  other  customs 
have  the  same  purpose  in  view,  namely,  the  arrest  of  decay. 
It  is  quite  curious  to  find  embalmment  and  its  antithesis^crfir 
mation,  practised  in  the  same  tribe  ;  yet,  since  the  principal  idea 
underlying  both  practices  is  the  same, — namely,  the  preservation 
of  all  the  parts  of  the  dead, — there  is  no  inconsistency  here. 
In  both,  the  destructible  parts  of  the  body  are  preserved  to  a 
great  extent,  for  what  fire  destroys  is  supposed  to  be  demate- 
rialized  and  ushered  quickly  into  the  world  of  spirits.  Hence 
it  became  a  very  common  instrument  in  sending  to  the  dead  the 
sacrifices  offered  by  their  living  friends,  and  the  Algonkin 
would  throw  his  choicest  bit  of  venison  into  the  fire  and  send  it 
to  his  hungry  spirit-relative,  before  a  morsel  had  been  touched 
by  the  living,  with  as  much  religious  fervor  as  would  the  Greek 
offer  a  bullock  on  the  sacrificial  altar  or  the  Chinaman  of  our 
day  burn  paper  houses  and  money  for  use  in  the  spirit-world. 
It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  this  spirit-world  was  in  earlier 
times  in  and  among  the  living  world,  and  not  banished,  as  in 
our  modern  civilization,  to  some  unknown  far-off  country 
"  from  whose  bourn  no  traveller  returns."  Thus,  whether  cre^ 
mation  or  embalmment  took  place,  the  spirit  was  ready  _and 
waiting  for  a  rehabitation  of  its  fleshly  tenement-house,  ncme 
the  less  real  because  the  flames  had  wafted  it  into  the  shadow- 
land.  With  the  belief  that  reanimation  will  be  prevented  if  the 
other  self  finds  a  mutilated  corpse,  or  none  at  all,  there  goes 
the  belief  that  to  insure  reanimation  putrefaction  must  be 
stopped.  Naturally  there  arises_the  inference  that  if  destruction, 
of  the  body  by  animals  or  otherwise  prevents  revival,  decompo 
sition  of  it  may  prevent  revival.  That  this  idea  is  not  found 
among  men  in  very  low  states  is  undoubtedly  due  to  the  fact 
that  no  methods  of  arresting  decomposition  have  been  dis 
covered  by  them.  Hence  cremation  is  found  among  lower 
tribes,  and  survives  when  this  more  approved  method  is  dis- 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  197 

covered ;  and  even  among  those  who  are  acquainted  with  the 
process  much  greater  care  is  taken  to  preserve  the  bodies  of 
kings  and  distinguished  men  than  the  mass  of  the  people. 
Hence  the  latter  are  often  carelessly  looked  after.  Distinctions 
of  caste,  which  are  apt  to  arise  in  the  higher  stages  of  human 
progress  under  certain  conditions  of  development,  tend  to 
destroy  the  belief  in  the  immortality  of  the  lower  class.  Such 
glaring  examples  of  this  are  found  in  some  of  the  more  ad 
vanced  American  nations  that  immortality  has  been  denied  to 
all  but  a  few  of  the  upper  class.  Hence,  while  great  care  is 
taken  in  the  preservation  of  their  bodies  by  the  erection  over 
them  of  pyramids  and  temples,  the  common  people  die  with 
"  none  so  poor  as  to  do  them  reverence." 

The  belief  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body  was  universal_ 
among  primitive  peoples,  and  owed  its  origin  often  to  cases  of 
resuscitation.  Among  the  tribes  of  the  West  there  was  a  super 
stition  against  touching  dead  bodies,  or  those  supposed  to  be 
dead ;  and  hence  there  have  been  many  cases  where  the  natives 
have  been  buried  alive.  Two  cases  of  this  kind  are  mentioned 
by  Lee  and  Frost  among  the  natives  of  Oregon.1  Among 
these  tribes  there  are  a  few  resurrection-traditions,  growing 
undoubtedly  out  of  this  careless  habit.  The  Virginians  had 
fictions  concerning  the  resurrection  of  certain  persons  from  the 
dead.  Hariot  gives  two  instances  of  this.  He  says,  "  They  told 
me  that  a  wicked  man  having  been  dead  and  buried,  the  next 
day  the  earth  of  the  grave  was  seen  to  move,  whereupon,  being 
taken  up  again,  he  told  where  his  soul  had  been,  and  that  he 
was  very  near  entering  into  Popogusso,  had  not  one  of  the  gods 
saved  him  and  given  him  leave  to  return  again  and  teach  his 
friends  what  they  should  do  to  avoid  that  terrible  place  of 
torment.  Another  revival  from  the  dead  occurred  the  same 
year,  and  it  was  told  me  for  strange  news  that  one  being  dead, 
buried,  and  taken  up  again  as  the  first,  showed  that  although 
his  body  had  laid  dead  in  the  grave,  yet  his  soul  was  alive,  and 

1  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  321. 


198  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

had  travelled  far  in  the  long,  broad  way,  on  both  sides  whereof 
grew  most  delicate  and  pleasant  trees,  bearing  more  rare  and 
excellent  fruits  than  ever  he  had  seen  before.  He  at  length 
came  to  most  fair  houses,  near  which  he  met  his  father  that  had 
been  dead  before,  who  gave  him  great  charge  to  go  back  again 
and  show  his  friends  what  good  they  were  to  do  to  enjoy  the 
pleasures  of  that  place."  x 

In  cases  of  the  falling  sickness,  catalepsy,  or  any  diseases 
where  the  person  is  in  a  lethargic  state,  the  savage  believes 
that  the  soul  has  left  the  body  and  returns  to  it  again  when 
revival  takes  place.  This  has  perhaps  suggested  in  many  cases 
their  belief  in  a  resurrection.  The  Ojibways  say  of  such 
cases  that  the  soul  could  not  get  into  the  spirit-land  and 
had  to  come  back.  They  conceive  the  person  to  be  dead, 
and  the  revival  is  a  resurrection.  The  savage  believes  that 
the  insensibility  of  death  is,  like  all  the  other  insensibilities, 
only  temporary.2 

Among  the  Eskimos,  if  a  man  wished  to  become  of  the 
highest  order  of  priests,  it  was  requisite  that  he  should  be 
drowned  and  eaten  by  sea-monsters  ;  then,  when  his  bones  were 
washed  ashore,  his  spirit,  which  had  spent  all  this  time  gather 
ing  information  about  the  secrets  of  the  invisible  world,  would 
return  to  them,  and  he  would  rejoin  his  tribe.3 

There  are  curious  traditions  of  resurrections  among  them. 
An  Eskimo  female  carried  home  a  bird,  and,  having  cut  it  up, 
found  in  its  crop  the  bones  of  her  lost  brother.  She  singled 
these  all  out  and  kept  them  together,  when,  behold,  they 
moved.  The  brother  quickly  revived,  and  seemed  entirely 
unhurt.4  An  Eskimo  man  and  wife  who  were  old  and  unable 
to  provide  for  themselves,  in  their  extremity  decided  to  go  to 
the  tomb  of  their  dead  foster-son.  The  grave  was  opened  and 
the  body  appealed  to,  when,  lo,  it  began  to  move.  The  son 
arose  from  the  dead,  went  home  with  them,  got  a  kayak,  and 


1  Harlot,  ap.  3  Hakluyt,  277,  seq.  a  I  Spencer,  Soc.,  167. 

3  Brinton,  299.  4  Rink's  Trad.,  260. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  199 

thereafter  provided  for  his  aged  parents.1  Many  stories  are 
told  of  such  resurrections  among  the  Eskimos.  In  one  case 
a  son  revived  three  times,  after  as  many  burials. 

The  natives  of  Canada  had  a  universally  received  tradition 
that  their  dead  bodies  were  to  rise  again.2 

The  Peruvians  thought  the  bodies  of  the  dead  arose  from 
their  graves.  Some  of  them  asserted  that  they  had  seen  them 
walking  about  after  burial.3  Atahuallpa  requested  the  Span 
iards  that  he  might  be  hanged  instead  of  burned.  He  said  then 
his  body  would  rise  again.4  The  Chibchas  also  believed  that 
the  dead  would  be  raised.5  The  natives  of  Quimbaya  thought 
that  the  bodies  of  the  dead  would  come  to  life  again.6  Those 
of  Guazacualco  thought  the  dead  would  rise  again;  and  there 
fore  hung  their  bones  to  the  bough  of  a  tree,  that  they  might 
be  easily  found.7  Among  many  of  the  tribes  of  South  America 
it  was  within  the  power  of  the  sorcerers,  they  thought,  to  bring 
the  dead  to  life.8 

The  Bois  Brule  tribe  carried  their  belief  in  the  resurrection 
so  far  that  if  a  leg  or  a  foot  should  be  separated  from  the  rest 
of  the  body  the  stray  member  would  be  hunted  for  till  found.9 
All  of  the  aborigines  preserved  with  almost  as  much  care  the 
bones  of  animals.  They  said  these  bones  contained  the  spirits 
of  the  slain  animals,  and  that  some  time  in  the  future  they 
would  rise,  reclothe  themselves  with  flesh,  and  stock  the  earth 
anew.10 

The  Minetarees  believe  that  the  bones  of  the  bisons  which 
they  have  slain  and  divested  of  flesh  rise  again  with  new  flesh 
and  life  the  succeeding  June.  They  have  a  curious  myth  bear 
ing  upon  this  subject  of  animal  resurrection.  They  say  one  of 
their  boys,  supposed  to  have  been  killed,  was  found  in  a  buffalo. 
He  had  killed  it,  and,  as  a  refuge  against  an  inclement  night, 

1  Rink's  Trad.,  298.  a  I  Warburton's  Canada,  196. 

3  Cieza,  160-61.  *  Pizarro  (Rep.,  247). 

5  P.  Simon,  243.  6  5  Herrera,  202. 

7  4  ib.,  126.  8  Miiller,  Amer.  Urreligionen,  287. 

9  2  Beltrami,  394.  10  Brinton,  278. 


200  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

took  shelter  within  its  body  in  place  of  the  viscera  which  he 
had  taken  out.  During  the  night  the  flesh  of  the  bison  grew 
over  the  side,  the  animal  came  to  life,  and  the  boy  had  lived 
there  for  one  year  before  he  was  found.1 

So  thoroughly  are  the  Minetarees  convinced  of  the  truth  of 
the  resurrection,  that  they  have  a  tradition  that  the  tribe  came 
from  under  ground.  These  traditions  of  underground  origin 
are  very  common  among  the  American  tribes,  and  have  origi 
nated  on  account  of  their  belief  in  the  resurrection,  accom 
panied  by  the  tribal  custom  of  interment.  Some  of  the  South 
ern  tribes  of  the  United  States  had  traditions  of  underground 
origin.  The  most  curious  instance  is  that  of  the  Muscogees, 
who  thought  that  they  had  emerged  from  two  mounds  in  the 
forks  of  Red  River.2 

The  Navajos  had  a  tradition  of  underground  origiiL__  When 
confined  under  the  surface  of  the  earth,  they  were  aided  in 
emerging  therefrom  by  the  locust,  who  bored  the  first  hole, 
which  was  so  small,  however,  that  the  badger  had  to  make  it 
larger.  The  badger  was  the  first  to  crawl  out,  in  a  miry  spot, 
and  his  fore-legs  were  so  covered  with  mud  that  they  have  re 
mained  stained  ever  since.  After  arriving  on  the  surface  of 
the  earth,  they  had  to  call  the  wolf,  the  bat,  and  the  squirrel  to 
their  aid  in  procuring  fire.  The  wolf  tied  some  inflammable 
wood  to  its  tail,  and  held  it  over  the  crater  of  a  volcano  until  it 
ignited.  The  bat  then  fanned  the  flame  with  its  wings,  while 
the  squirrel  carried  the  fire  to  the  Navajos.3 

The  Zunis  vary  the  legend  about  their  emergingJron^jLhe 
earth.  The  woodpecker  attempted  to  peck  a  hole  through  for 
them,  but  failed,  when  an  eagle,  with  a  blow  of  its  beak,  broke 
the  crust  of  the  earth,  and  the  bear  forced  its  way  through, 
leaving  a  hole  for  the  Indians.4 

"""Sacrifice  was  the  most  interesting  rite  attending  the  burial 
I  of  the  dead,  and  is  illustrative  of  the  worship  of  spirits.      All 


1  I  Long's  Exp.,  257. '  "  I  Stevens's  Ga.,  51. 

3  Cozzens's  Marvellous  Country,  132.  *  Ib.,  346-48. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  2OI 

primitive  peoples  make  offerings  of  meat,  drink,  and  all  otlier 
useful  things  to  the  dead.  The  Coras  of  Mexico,  after  a  man's 
death,  placed  meat  upon  sticks  about  the  burial-place.  The 
Nootkans  burned  salmon  and  venison  at  the  graves  of  the ! 
dead.  Among  the  Mosquito  Indians,  the  widow  was  compelled 
to  supply  the  grave  of  her  husband  with  provisions  for  a  year 
after  his  death.  The  Pueblo  Indians  placed  corn-bread  and 
meat  in  places  supposed  to  be  haunted  by  the  dead.  Blankets 
were  burned  at  the  funerals  of  the  Ahts,  that  the  soul  might  not 
be  sent  shivering  to  the  next  world.1  The  Ukiahs  and  Sanels 
of  California  placed  food  in  those  places  supposed  to  be  the 
favored  haunts  of  the  dead.2  Among  the  Algonkin  tribes  the 
female  relatives  went  to  the  grave  frequently,  and  made  offerings 
of  bread,  meat,  clothing,  tobacco,  and  even  watermelons,  for  as 
long  a  period  as  a  year  after  interment.3  The  Illinois  buried 
corn  with  their  dead,  together  with  a  pot  to  boil  it  in.  They 
thought  they  might  be  hungry  without  a  supply  of  provisions.4 
Mr.  Riggs  says  the  idea  of  sacrifice  was  at  the  foundation  of 
all  the  ancient  ceremonies  of  the  Dacotahs.  Sacrifices  were 
universally  made  to  the  spirits  of  their  dead.  Food  was  given 
for  their  use.  The  offerings  were  often  left  on  the  graves. 
There  was  no  sacrificial  priesthood  among  them,  but  each  one 
made  his  own  offerings.  Among  the  Iroquois,  when  an  Indian 
was  about  to  die,  they  cut  the  throats  of  all  the  dogs  they  could 
catch,  that  the  souls  of  these  animals  might  accompany  him. 
They  stripped  themselves  of  everything  that  was  most  valuable, 
to  adorn  the  dead.  They  deprived  themselves  of  food  to  carry 
it  to  their  sepulchres  or  other  places  which  they  fancied  were 
haunted  by  their  souls.  When  a  post  was  set  uj^oji  Jhej^raye 
adorned  with  the  portrait  of  the  deceased,  they  hung  their 
offerings  upon  it.  They  carried  fresh  provisions  to  the  grave 
every  morning,  and  when  the  dogs  devoured  them  they  im 
agined  they  had  been  eaten  by  the  souls  of  the  deceased.  The 


1  3  Bancroft,  521.  2  3  ib.,  524.  3  i  London's  Narratives,  341,  350. 

*  JoutePs  Journal,  164. 


202  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Potawatomies  left  food  at  the  grave  when  they  visited  it.     A 
fire  was  lighted  at  the  head  of  the  grave.1 

The  idea  among  all  the  tribes  was  that  the  sacrifices  were 
used.  The  Algonkins  told  Father  Le  Jeune  that  they  found 
meat  which  had  been  left  for  souls  that  had  been  gnawed  by 
them.  The  Caribs  said  they  heard  the  spirits  moving  the  ves 
sels  and  champing  the  food  set  for  them,  and  this  they  believed 
though  nothing  appeared  to  be  touched.2  Mr.  Miiller  says  they 
thought  the  spirit  of  the  food  was  appropriated  by  the  spirits  of 
the  dead,  though  it  had  no  appearance  of  having  been  touched. 

Among  the  tribes  of  South  America  sacrificial  offerings  of 
the  same  kind  were  made  to  the  dead.  The  Araucanians  sup 
plied  provisions  to  the  dead  for  their  supposed  journey.  The 
natives  of  Brazil  carried  provisions  every  day  to  their  dead.3 
The  natives  of  Panama  presented  food  to  the  dead,  and  carried 
a  yearly  sacrifice  of  maize  to  their  graves.4  The  Chibchas 
placed  food  in  the  graves  with  their  dead.5  Among  some  of 
the  tribes  of  Peru,  wives  stayed  several  days  at  their  husbands' 
graves  to  cook  for  them.  They  poured  chicha  on  their  bodies.6 
The  children  would  carry  stores  of  food  and  clothing  to  the 
tombs  of  their  parents.7  In  Peruvian  graves,  corn,  potatoes, 
cocoa,  and  nuts  were  found  in  abundance. 

At  the  time  of  the  discovery,  the  Mayas  of  Yucatan  offered 
animals  of  all  kinds  and  provisions  of  every  sort  to  the  dead.8 
The  mouths  of  their  dead  were  stuffed  with  ground  maize.  In 
their  religious  festivals  food  was  always  offered  the  dead. 
Among  the  mountain-tribes  of  Yucatan,  chocolate  and  large 
maize  tortillas  were  placed  about  the  dead  when  buried.9  The 
Zapotecs  placed  food  in  the  grave  or  in  its  immediate  vicinity.10 
The  Isthmians  filled  the  graves  of  their  dead  lords  with  jars  of 
maize,  fruit,  and  wine ;  even  flowers  were  offered.11 


'  I  Keating,  113.  2  2  Tylor,  388. 

3  4  Herrera,  97.  •*  3  Picart,  175. 

s  Hollaert,  14.  6  Frezier's  Voyage,  58. 

7  Markham's  Cuzco,  126.  8  Lancia,  28. 

9  Cogulludo,  bk.  12,  ch.  7.  I0  I  Bancroft,  667.        "  I  ib.,  783. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  203 

The  periodical  renewal  of  these  sacrifices  that  were  sup 
posed  to  supply  the  wants  of  the  dead  is  found  among  nearly 
all  the  tribes.  At  the  annual  cumulative  burial-ceremony  of 
the  Northern  tribes,  when  the  bodies  have  been  ranged  in 
order,  broth  is  offered  to  these  skeletons,  and  many  presents 
are  offered  them.  The  Peruvians  often  opened  the  tombs  of 
the  dead  and  renewed  the  offerings  of  food  and  clothing.1  At 
certain  seasons  of  the  year  the  bodies  of  their  chiefs  were 
carried  to  the  fields  and  sheep  offered  to  them.2 

Among  the  Mexicans  a  daily  sacrifice  of  food  and  flowers 
was  placed  on  the  tombs  of  the  dead  for  twenty  days  after 
death.3  The  honors  paid  their  dead  ancestors  continued  for 
many  years  after  their  death,  and  did  not  cease  with  their  fune 
rals.  An  annual  feast  was  celebrated  for  the  dead,  when  the 
houses  were  richly  decorated  and  food  of  all  kinds  prepared, 
as  though  the  spirits  would  come  and  partake  of  it.  The 
members  of  the  family  carried  torches  during  this  ceremony. 
THe  spirits  were  thought  to  extract  all  the  nutritive  qualities 
of  the  food.4  The  continuance  of  this  custom  for  three  cen 
turies  after  the  conquest  is  noticed  by  the  Abbe  Brasseur. 
Even  recently  the  Indians  in  the  interior  of  Yucatan  place 
out-of-doors,  under  a  tree,  a  portion  of  their  food  for  their 
deceased  friends  to  eat,  and  they  say  that  the  portion  thus  set 
apart  is  always  eaten.5 

Thus  among  these  more  civilized  races  we  find  the  same 
primitive  ideas  of  sacrifice  as  among  those  in  savagery  and 
barbarism ;  but  it  was  supplemented  by  an  elaborate  sacrificial 
ritual  in  the  worship  of  their  monarchs  and  heroes. 

Of  all  the  food-offerings  made  to  the  dead,  those  of  mothers 
to  their  children  were  the  simplest  and  showed  the  primitive 
idea  of  sacrifice.  Among  the  Iroquois,  mothers  have  been 
known  to  keep  the  dead  bodies  of  their  children  by  them  for 
years  and  continually  feed  them  with  their  milk.6 

1  Cieza,  228-29.  2  Ib.,  227.  3  Motolinia,  31. 

*  3  Brasseur,  Hist.,  23-24.          s  i  Stephens's  Yucatan,  45. 
6  2  Charlevoix,  Journal,  185,  seq. 


204  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Among  the  Californian  tribes,  mothers  dropped  their  milk  on 
the  lips  of  their  dead  children,  that  they  might  have  sustenance 
till  they  reached  a  place  of  rest.1  They  sprinkled  nourishing 
milk  on  the  graves  of  their  dead  babes  for  some  time  after  their 
burial.2  The  Nicaraguan  mothers  withheld  their  milk  from 
other  children  for  four  days  after  the  death  of  their  own  babe, 
that  it  might  be  supplied.3  Among  many  tribes,  when  a  child 
died  a  dog  was  sacrificed,  to  guide  its  wandering  steps  to  the 
spirit-land.  They  thought  children  did  not  have  sufficient 
understanding  to  find  the  way. 

These  simple  offerings  were  not  acts  of  worship,  but  illustrate 
the  primitive  forms  of  sacrifice  before  it  became  an  act  of 
homage.  Fear  soon  became  the  instigating  cause  of  these  offer 
ings,  and  many  tales  are  told  among  all  the  tribes  of  the  pun 
ishments  inflicted  upon  those  who  failed  to  make  the  offerings, 
whether  intentionally  or  not.  They  generally  put  them  in  the 
fire.  Occasionally  they  visited  the  graves  of  the  dead  and  made 
their  offerings  there.4  They  thought  a  neglect  of  this  duty 
brought  upon  them  the  vengeance  of  the  spirits.  Whenever 
a  burying-ground  or  grave  was  passed,  something  was  offered ; 
and  it  was  considered  a  wicked  act  to  neglect  this  attention  to 
the  dead.  The  following  is  an  amusing  illustration  of  the  origin 
and  strength  of  this  religious  sentiment.  An  Ojibway  was  once 
passing  an  Indian  burial-ground  at  dusk  with  a  kettle  of  whiskey 
in  his  hands ;  he  felt  his  duty  to  his  ancestors,  but,  rather  than 
part  with  his  precious  drink  by  pouring  out  a  small  libation,  he 
grasped  his  whiskey  the  firmer  and  hurried  on.  His  guilty  con 
science  worked  on  his  imagination,  and  a  ghostly  pursuer  was 
after  him  and  gaining  rapidly.  He  determined  to  make  a  desper 
ate  struggle  to  keep  his  whiskey,  and  he  turned  to  grasp  his  pur 
suer.  But,  lo  !  he  did  not  hold  in  his  arms  his  ghostly  pursuer, 
but  a  tall  bunch  of  rushes  into  which  it  had  transformed  itself. 
When  an  Indian  falls  into  the  fire  and  gets  burned,  he  believes 


1  I  Bancroft,  590.  2  3  ib.,  524. 

3  3  ib.,  543.  4  Jones,  Ojibways,  101. 


B  URIAL-  CUSTOMS.  205 

that  the  spirits  of  the  dead  have  pushed  him  in,  to  punish  him 
for  neglect  of  those  pious  offerings  due  to  them.1 

Among  all  primitive  peoples  the  doctrine  of  sacrifices  is 
based  on  utilitarian  principles  :  the  things  offered  are  supposed 
to  be  used  by  the  dead  and  to  be  necessary  to  their  happiness.. 
Among  the  more  uncivilized  American  tribes  all  or  nearly  all 
the  property  of  the  deceased  was  offered  in  sacrifice,  or,  more 
correctly  speaking,  was  sent  to  him  in  the  next  world.  Gitchi 
Gauzini,  an  Ojibway  chief,  after  a  severe  illness,  was  thought  to 
be  dead.  He,  however,  revived  after  four  days,  and  gave  an 
account  of  his  journey  to  the  spirit-land,  in  which  he  met  hosts 
of  spirits  travelling  thither  laden  with  pipes,  kettles,  and  pro 
visions.  Women  had  basket-work,  paddles,  and  other  female 
utensils.2  This  indicates  the  nature  of  their  faith  in  the  utility 
and  existence  of  these  sacrificial  offerings  in  the  spirit-world. 

The  natives  of  Canada  think  the  souls  of  their  kettles  and 
other  utensils  follow  the  dead  into  the  next  world.3 

"  Do  not  lay  such  heavy  burdens 
On  the  graves  of  those  you  bury  ; 
Not  such  weight  of  furs  and  wampum, 
Not  such  weight  of  pots  and  kettles  ; 
For  the  spirits  faint  beneath  them  ; 
Only  give  them  food  to  carry, 
Only  give  them  fire  to  light  them." 

LONGFELLOW, 

In  a  Peruvian  tomb,  alongside  of  a  female  there  lay  an  un 
finished  piece  of  weaving  stretched  upon  its  frame  and  with  its 
yarn  of  various  colors  still  bright.  The  needle  of  thorn  was  in 
it,  and  beside  it  several  balls  of  yarn.  It  was  laid  beside  her 
under  the  belief  that  she  would  resume  her  task  in  a  future 
life.* 

The  natives  of  the  West  India  islands  put  all  the  wealth  of 
the  dead  into  their  tombs,  and  women  and  servants  sacrificed 
themselves.  Among  the  Patagonians  all  the  property  of  the 


1  i  Schoolcraft,  139.  2  2  Tylor,  481-82. 

3  3  Picart,  99.  4  2  Wilson's  Prehist.  Man,  141. 


206  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

deceased  is  laid  with  him  in  the  grave.  If  he  has  horses,  they 
are  killed,  stuffed,  and  held  up  on  sticks  around  the  grave.1 
The  Araucanians  buried  with  the  dead  all  their  property. 

Among  the  Mosquitos  the  hatchets,  harpoons,  and  lances 
of  the  dead,  with  plenty  of  provisions,  were  buried  with  them. 
Even  the  boat  of  the  deceased  was  cut  up  and  placed  over  the 
grave.2 

The  Omahas  sacrificed  to  the  dead  their  bison  robes  and 
moccasins.3  The  Western  tribes  always  placed  the  weapons 
of  the  deceased  with  him,  thinking  that  he  would  use  them.4 
Mr.  Winslow  said  that  the  Narragansetts  offered  nearly  all  their 
riches  by  casting  them  into  a  great  fire. 

Among  the  Delawares,  says  Gabriel  Thomas,  kettles  and  all 
the  property  of  the  deceased  were  buried  with  them.5  The 
natives  of  West  New  Jersey,  says  the  same  author,  buried  all 
the  house-utensils  of  the  deceased,  and  even  money,  with  him, 
thinking  he  would  use  it  in  the  next  world.6 

All  of  the  tribes  admitted  that  the  bodies,  skins,  dishes,  and 
other  articles  offered  to  the  dead  remained  in  this  world,  but 
the  spirit  went  to  the  next  world.  The  phantoms  of  the  articles 
left  at  the  grave  entered  the  spirit-land.7 

Those  tribes  which  practised  cremation  thought  the  flames 
spiritualized  their  sacrifices. 

Many  of  the  Indians  during  their  life  provided  for  an  abun 
dance  in  the  next  world.  A  Potawatomie  requested  that  he 
should  be  deposited  in  a  log  in  the  forks  of  a  road  between 
Detroit  and  Chicago,  in  order  that  he  might  receive  plenty  of 
tobacco  from  travellers.8 

The  Hurons  thought  that  at  the  annual  collection  and  in 
humation  of  the  bones  of  those  who  had  died  during  the  year, 
the  souls  of  the  dead  started  for  the  land  of  shades,  carrying 
with  them  the  spirits  of  the  wampum-belts,  beaver-skins,  bows 

1  2  Wood's  Uncivilized  Races,  542.  a  6  Churchill's  Coll.  Voy.,  295. 

3  2  Long's  Exp.,  2.  4  Lyon's  Journal,  374. 

5  Gabriel  Thomas,  Penn.,  50.  6  West  New  Jersey,  2. 

7  Dodge's  Plains,  284.  8  McCoy's  Baptist  Missions,  136. 


B  URIAL-  CUSTOMS.  207 

and  arrows,  pipes,  kettles,  and  beads  buried  with  them  in  their 
graves.1 

This  belief  in  the  delay  of  the  departure  of  the  spirits  for  a 
spirit-land  was  due  to  the  lingering  hope  and  expectation  that 
the  dead  might  return  to  the  living,  until  the  disintegration  of 
the  body  dispelled  that  hope. 

In  addition  to  their  own  property,  provisions  of  all  kinds 
were  supplied.  Seeds  were  often  tied  to  the  dead  by  tribes 
who  practised  agriculture  to  any  extent :  these  he  was  ex 
pected  to  plant  in  the  spirit-land  and  raise  a  crop  therefrom. 
Numerous  flocks  of  llamas  were  pastured  and  raised  in  Peru 
for  the  purposes  of  sacrifice.  About  two  hundred  thousand  of 
these  animals  were  sacrificed  annually  in  the  city  of  Cuzco 
alone.  Alpacas,  vicunas,  and  guanacos  were  also  offered  in 
large  numbers.  Among  wild  animals,  foxes,  rabbits,  apes,  deer, 
tapirs,  tigers,  serpents,  lizards,  humming-birds,  parrots,  cuckoos 
flamingoes,  and  even  flies  were  offered,  and  also  all  the  useful 
vegetable  products.2 

If  anything  which  could  be  of  use  to  the  dead  was  retained, 
it  was  thought  to  be  a  great  wrong  done  to  the  deceased.  This 
destruction  of  property  at  death  was  a  serious  check  to  the 
progress  of  early  peoples  toward  civilization. 

The  extravagance  manifested  in  the  sacrificial  destruction 
of  property  reached  its  height  among  the  nations  of  Central 
America  and  Mexico. 

The  Guatemalans  made  costly  sacrifices  whenever  they  dedi 
cated  a  house  to  the  guardian  spirit  or  spirits  thereof,  and 
sprinkled  the  blood  of  animals  on  the  door-posts  and  walls.3 
The  one  who  offered  the  most  sacrifices  at  one  of  the  Mexican 
festivals  was  especially  honored  all  the  year  after.4  The  Mex 
icans  would  not  even  pluck  leaves  or  foliage  without  offering  a 
portion  of  them  to  spirits.5  In  Granada,  their  idols,  represent 
ing  men,  were  found  with  their  mouths  full  of  flowers,  which 

1  Parkman,  Jesuits,  Ixxxi.  2  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  196-98. 

3  Ximenez,  188.  4  3  Herrera,  1 21. 

5  Worsley's  View,  175, 


208  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

were  offerings  from  the  natives.1  This  aesthetic  worship  was 
uncommon,  and  affords  a  pleasing  contrast  to  most  of  their 
ceremonial. 

In  Peru,  the  substitution  of  the  images  of  the  things  sacri 
ficed  was  displacing  to  some  extent  their  human  and  animal 
sacrifices.  These  sacrifices  were,  however,  continued  to  the 
time  of  the  conquest  and  long  thereafter.  When  sacrifice  de 
generated  into  an  act  of  homage,  it  became  a  ceremonial  rite 
of  worship.  This  was  not  its  primitive  meaning.  The  sacri 
fice  of  property  that  was  of  little  or  no  use  gradually  supplanted 
the  primitive  sacrifice,  and  even  systematic  efforts  to  defraud 
the  dead  and  reduce  sacrifice  to  a  mere  formality  prevailed 
among  the  civilized  American  aborigines  as  well  as  among 
the  ancient  peoples  of  the  Old  World,  where  cheap  imitations 
of  expensive  articles  were  made  for  the  purposes  of  sacrifice. 

Human  sacrifices  prevailed  to  a  certain  extent  in  both 
Americas.  It  is  quite  a  remarkable  fact  that  they  prevailed  to 
a  much  greater  extent  among  the  civilized  races  than  among 
the  uncivilized  ;  yet  there  are  some  traces  of  it  among  the  latter. 
Mrs.  Eastman  mentions  a  case  of  human  sacrifices  among  the 
Dacotahs,  and  Mr.  Keating  says  there  were  traditions  about 
human  sacrifices  among  the  Ojibways,  among  whom  the  cruel 
rite  seems  to  have  expired  in  a  myth.  An  epidemic  appears 
to  have  swept  over  their  tribe,  which  they  ascribed  to  the  pun 
ishment  sent  by  spiritual  influences  on  account  of  their  wicked 
ness.  All  other  efforts  failing,  it  was  decided  that  the  most 
beautiful  girl  of  the  tribe  should  enter  a  canoe,  push  into  the 
channel  just  above  the  Sault,  and  throw  away  her  paddle.  The 
morning  of  the  day  appointed  for  the  solemn  sacrifice  dawned, 
and  loud  and  dismal  was  the  wail  of  sorrow  which  broke  upon 
the  silent  air.  The  beautiful  sacrifice  was  surrounded  with  her 
long-loved  companions,  who  decked  her  hair  and  neck  with 
the  brightest  shells  and  most  beautiful  feathers.  The  time  ap 
pointed  for  the  sacrifice  was  the  sunset  hour,  and,  as  the  day 

1  Boyle's  Camp  Notes,  84. 


B  URIAL-  CUSTOMS.  209 

rapidly  waned,  the  gloom  which  pervaded  the  entire  village 
increased.  The  time  approached ;  the  Indian  maiden  was  led 
to  the  canoe,  when,  lo !  a  strange  echo  came  over  the  waters, 
and  a  black  speck  was  seen  coming  from  the  setting  sun.  It 
was  a  small  canoe,  which  swept  mysteriously  over  the  watery 
waste.  It  contained  a  fairy-like  being  who  stood  with  her  arms 
folded  and  her  eyes  fixed  upon  the  heavens.  As  she  moved 
directly  toward  the  rapids,  her  song  was,  "  I  come  from  the 
spirit-land  to  stay  the  plague  and  save  the  life  of  the  beautiful 
Ojibway."  The  canoe  and  its  spirit  voyager  passed  into  the 
foam  of  the  cataract  and  were  lost  forever.1 

Human  sacrifice  was  practised  among  the  Miamis,  for  we 
are  told  by  Mr.  Drake  that  Little  Turtle,  the  famous  Miami 
chief,  "  did  more  than  any  other  to  abolish  human  sacrifices 
among  his  people."  2 

There  are  many  evidences  of  the  practice  of  human  sacrifice 
among  those  tribes  living  on  the  Ohio,  Cumberland,  and  Ten 
nessee  Rivers.3  Father  Jogues  mentions  the  sacrifice  of  a 
woman  among  the  tribes  of  New  York,  and  De  Vries  mentions 
another  instance  of  this  practice  among  them.4  The  tribes  of 
British  America  practised  human  sacrifice  to  a  limited  extent. 
The  Pawnees  offered  human  victims  at  their  annual  ceremony 
immediately  preceding  their  horticultural  operations.5  It  was 
among  this  tribe  that  Petashaleroo  struck  the  final  blow  at 
human  sacrifices,  by  rescuing  his  intended  bride,  who  had  been 
chosen  as  a  victim. 

Human  sacrifices  never  prevailed  to  any  extent  among  the 
barbarous  tribes  of  the  North.  Very  few  cases  of  compulsory 
human  sacrifice  are  found.  Among* these  primitive  tribes  vol 
untary  sacrifice  was  more  frequent.  Suicides  often  occurred, 
that  the  person  committing  this  self-sacrifice  might  follow 
the  deceased  into  the  next  world.  The  Carriers  sometimes 
burned  the  widow  at  the  funeral  ceremonies  of  her  husband.6 

1  Lanman's  Haw-Hoo-Noo,  227-28.  2  Indian  Biography,  ist  ed.,  158. 

3  Haywood's  Ab.  Hist.  Term.,  140.  4  3  N.  Y.  Hist.  Coll.,  56,  203. 

s  3  Long's  Exp.,  80.  6  West's  Journal,  141. 


210  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Among  some  of  the  tribes  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  the 
sacrifice  of  the  wife  took  place  at  the  funeral  of  her  husband.1 
Sutteeism  was  also  practised  among  the  Tlascalans.2 

Among  the  tribes  farther  south,  human  sacrifice  prevailed  to 
a  greater  extent.  When  De  Soto  died,  two  young  men  were 
killed  to  wait  upon  him  in  the  spirit-world.3  Among  the 
Floridians  slaves  were  burned  with  their  chiefs,  to  wait  upon 
them  in  the  next  world.  The  Gent  of  Elvas  mentions  human 
sacrifices  among  the  Calloosas,  and  also  among  the  tribes 
around  St.  John's  River.  Says  Charlevoix,  describing  the 
human  sacrifices  among  the  Natches  at  the  obsequies  of  a 
female  chief,  "  The  husband  of  this  woman  not  being  noble, 
that  is  to  say,  of  the  family  of  the  great  chief,  his  eldest  son 
strangled  him  according  to  custom  ;  then  they  cleared  the 
cabin  of  all  it  contained,  and  they  erected  in  it  a  kind  of  tri 
umphal  car,  in  which  the  body  of  the  deceased  woman  and 
that  of  her  husband  were  placed.  A  moment  after,  they 
ranged  round  these  carcasses  twelve  little  children,  which  their 
parents  had  strangled.  This  being  done,  they  erected  in 
the  public  place  fourteen  scaffolds,  adorned  with  branches  of 
trees  and  cloths,  on  which  they  had  painted  various  figures. 
These  scaffolds  were  designed  for  as  many  persons  who  were 
to  accompany  the  woman  chief  into  the  other  world.  They 
apply  sometimes  ten  years  beforehand  to  obtain  this  favor. 
They  appear  on  their  scaffolds  dressed  in  their  richest  habits, 
holding  in  their  right  hand  a  great  shell.  During  the  eight 
days  that  precede  their  death,  some  wear  a  red  ribbon  around 
one  of  their  legs,  and  during  all  this  time  everybody  strives 
who  shall  be  the  first  to  feast  them.  .  .  .  On  the  occasion 
I  am  speaking  of,  the  fathers  and  mothers  who  had  strangled 
their  children  took  them  up  in  their  hands  and  ranged  them 
selves  on  both  sides  of  the  cabin ;  the  fourteen  persons  who 
were  also  destined  to  die  placed  themselves  in  the  same 


I  Bancroft,  440.  2  2  Herrera,  303. 

3  Foster's  Prehistotic  Races,  316. 


B  URIAL-  CUSTOMS.  2 1 1 

manner.  At  last  they  began  the  procession.  The  fathers 
and  mothers  who  carried  the  dead  children  appeared  first, 
marching  two  and  two,  and  came  immediately  before  the  bier, 
on  which  was  the  body  of  the  woman  chief,  which  four  men 
carried  on  their  shoulders.  All  the  others  came  after,  in  the 
same  order  as  the  first.  At  every  ten  paces  the  fathers  and 
mothers  let  their  children  fall  upon  the  ground ;  those  who 
carried  the  bier  walked  upon  them,  then  turned  quite  round 
them  ;  so  that  when  the  procession  arrived  at  the  temple  these 
little  bodies  were  all  in  pieces.  While  they  buried  the  body 
of  the  woman  chief  in  the  temple,  they  undressed  the  fourteen 
persons  who  were  to  die ;  they  made  them  sit  on  the  ground 
before  the  door,  each  having  two  savages  by  him.  Then  they 
put  a  cord  about  his  neck  and  covered  his  head  with  a  roe 
buck's  skin.  They  made  him  swallow  three  pills  of  tobacco 
and  drink  a  glass  of  water,  and  the  relations  of  the  woman  chief 
drew  the  two  ends  of  the  cord,  singing  till  he  was  strangled. 
After  this  they  threw  all  the  carcasses  into  the  same  pit,  which 
they  covered  with  earth."  J 

Among  the  rude  tribes  of  South  America  voluntary  sacri 
fices  were  common.  Many  of  the  Brazilians  killed  themselves 
on  the  graves  of  their  chiefs.  Among  the  Itatines  a  number 
of  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  person  would  commit  suicide 
by  throwing  themselves  from  a  precipice,  in  order  to  accom 
pany  the  deceased  to  another  world.  A  Mbaya  woman,  when 
she  found  that  a  chief's  daughter  received  no  sacrifices  at  her 
funeral,  celebrated  by  a  Catholic  priest,  whose  faith  she  had 
espoused,  asked  a  fellow-savage  to  knock  her  on  the  head,  that 
she  might  go  and  serve  the  damsel.  This  he  did  quickly  and 
without  hesitation. 

The  Guaycurus  of  South  America  butchered  a  certain  num 
ber  of  men  and  women  on  the  death  of  a  person  of  distinction, 
in  order  that  they  might  bear  him  company  into  the  other 
world.  It  is  evident  that  human  sacrifices  were  made  that  the 

1  2  Charlevoix's  Journal,  162. 


212  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

spirits  of  the  victims  might  serve  the  spirits  of  those  to  whom 
they  were  offered. 

A  New  Mexican  king,  mentioned  by  Gage,  had  a  cup-bearer, 
cook,  and  laundress  sacrificed  at  his  death.1 

In  Mexico,  the  chaplain  of  a  great  magnate  who  died  was 
killed  to  officiate  for  him  in  the  other  world.2  This  was  a  very 
extraordinary  piece  of  self-sacrifice  on  the  part  of  a  pagan 
priesthood,  who  have  generally  arranged  religious  worship  in 
such  a  way  that  they  are  not  sacrificed  to  the  people,  but  the 
people  to  them.  The  usual  victims  at  their  sacrifices  were 
captives,  slaves,  and  criminals. 

The  sacrificial  system  of  the  Mexicans  was  very  elaborate. 
They  were  more  civilized  in  one  sense  than  the  Northern 
tribes,  but  more  inhuman  in  the  sacrifice  of  human  beings. 
They  sacrificed  slaves  to  the  dead  on  the  fifth,  twentieth,  for 
tieth,  sixtieth,  and  eightieth  days  after  burial. 

The  manner  of  conducting  human  sacrifices  in  Mexico  was 
revolting  in  its  details.  The  victim  was  stretched  upon  the 
altar  and  held  by  four  priests,  while  a  fifth  placed  an  instrument 
in  the  shape  of  a  coiled  serpent  about  his  neck.  The  high- 
priest  then  approached,  cut  open  his  breast,  tore  out  the  bleed 
ing  heart  while  still  palpitating,  and  offered  it  to  the  idol.  The 
head  was  then  cut  off,  and,  after  some  preparation,  placed  in  a 
charnel-house  of  skulls,  and  the  body  was  thrown  down  the 
stairway  leading  to  the  temple.  The  bodies  thus  thrown  down 
were  picked  up  and  carried  away  to  be  eaten.  In  some  of  the 
provinces  these  bodies  were  cut  up  and  sold  in  the  meat-mar 
kets.3  The  idols  were  daily  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of  human 
beings.4  Clavigero  says  that  twenty  thousand  human  beings 
were  annually  sacrificed  throughout  the  Mexican  empire.5 
Herrera  estimates  the  number  much  higher. 

The  Mayas  of  Yucatan  offered  human  sacrifices  in  times  of 
distress.  Among  them,  however,  the  substitution  of  figures  of 


1  New  Survey,  158.  2  3  Herrera,  220. 

3  i  Clavigero,  279.  4  Gage,  New  Survey,  115. 

5  i  Clavigero,  281. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  213 

the  heart  seems  to  have  begun  to  receive  favor  in  the  place 
of  human  sacrifices.  With  them  the  sacrifice  of  human  beings 
appears  to  have  been  associated  in  many  instances  with  the 
idea  that  they  would  act  as  intercessors,  and  they  were  sent  as 
messengers  to  the  spirit-world  to  make  known  the  wants  of  the 
people.  In  Yucatan,  where  Cukulcan  opposed  human  sacrifice, 
his  influence  operated  as  a  check  upon  this  inhuman  rite ;  but 
they  sent  young  virgins  occasionally  into  the  presence  of  the 
gods  to  intercede  for  needed  blessings.  That  they  were  in 
tended  as  intercessors  only  i|  shown  by  a  curious  incident. 
One  of  the  intended  victims  threatened  to  invoke  the  most 
terrible  evils  upon  the  people,  instead  of  blessings,  if  they 
sacrificed  her  against  her  will.  The  perplexed  priests  let  the 
girl  go.1  Slaves  were  sacrificed  in  large  numbers.2 

Holocausts  of  victims  were  sacrificed  in  the  sanguinary 
funeral  rites  of  the  Incas.  On  the  death  of  Huayna  Capac 
the  human  victims  numbered  over  a  thousand.3  The  Inca 
Yupanqui  shut  up  a  great  many  women  and  servants  in  the 
tomb  of  his  father,  to  die  there,  as  a  sacrifice  to  him.4  The 
Yuncas  of  Peru  buried  with  a  chief  his  wives  and  other  persons 
with  whom  he  had  much  friendship.  If  there  was  no  room 
in  the  tomb,  his  companions  had  to  be  buried  in  holes  around 
the  tomb.  They  would  often  commit  suicide  on  his  grave.5 

Among  the  coast  people  of  Peru,  human  sacrifices  were 
offered  at  the  sepulchres  of  the  dead.6  Human  sacrifices  were 
made  to  the  animal  deities  of  the  Peruvians.7  It  was  the  cus 
tom  when  they  gave  the  borla  to  the  new  Inca  to  sacrifice  two 
hundred  boys  from  four  to  ten  years  old.  Girls  also  were 
taken  from  the  monasteries  for  sacrifice.  It  will  thus  be  seen 
how  prevalent  human  sacrifices  were  throughout  Peru,  many 
authors  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding.  Huascar  became 
very  unpopular  among  his  subjects  because,  being  tired  of 

1  3  Bancroft,  471.  2  Fancourt's  Yucatan,  116. 

3  Ranking's  Peru,  229-30.  4  4  Herrera,  298. 

5  Cieza,  223.  6  Xeres,  Rep.,  32. 

7  Ranking,  89,  94. 


214  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

seeing  the  great  part  of  his  empire  in  the  hands  of  the  dead, 
he  ordered  that  all  corpses  should  be  buried.  The  easy  con 
quest  by  the  Spaniards  is  ascribed  to  this  alienation  of  the 
people1  because  the  worship  of  the  dead  was  interfered  with 
and  human  sacrifices  prevented. 

The  Quiches  of  Guatemala  offered  human  sacrifices  to  their 
idols.2  The  intercessory  character  of  many  of  their  sacrifices 
is  evident  from  their  sculptures.3 

The  Pipiles  of  Salvador  had  human  sacrifices  annually,  and 
with  the  blood  of  the  victims  they  sprinkled  the  walls  of  the 
temples.  If  any  blood  was  left  over,  they  poured  it  back 
into  the  body  of  the  victim.  For  success  in  war,  captives  were 
sacrificed.4 

The  custom  of  offering  captives  as  sacrifices  was  preva 
lent  among  all  those  guilty  of  human  sacrifices.  The  Arau- 
canians  of  Chile  sacrificed  prisoners  of  war  to  the  manes  of 
their  warriors  killed  in  the  war.5  The  Peruvians,  before  the 
Incas,  sacrificed  men  and  women  who  were  captives  taken  in 
war.  "  They  opened  their  breast  while  yet  alive,  and  took  out 
heart  and  lungs,  and  anointed  the  idol  with  their  blood,  and 
watched  the  omens  in  the  heart  and  lungs  to  see  whether  it 
was  accepted.  They  then  ate  the  sacrificed  Indian  with  relish 
and  delight."  6 

The  sacrifice  of  children  prevailed  among  both  the  civilized 
and  uncivilized  peoples.  Among  the  latter  they  were  seldom 
sacrificed,  except  when  the  death  of  the  mother  occurred  when 
the  child  was  so  young  that  its  care  was  considered  a  burden, 
and  it  was  sent  into  the  next  world  to  receive  maternal  care. 
The  sacrifice  of  children  grew,  however,  into  great  proportions 
among  the  more  advanced  nations. 

The  following  description  of  these  sacrifices  in  Culhuacan  is 
taken  from  Martyr : 

"  Let  every  godly  man  close  the  mouth  of  his  stomake,  lest 

1  P.  Pizarro,  238-40.  3  Ximenez,  183. 

3  See  Habel's  Sculptures.  4  Palacio,  65. 

s  2  Molina's  Chile,  78.  6  I  Garcilasso,  Commentaries,  50. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  215 

he  be  desturbed.  They  offer  younge  children  of  bothe  kyndes 
to  their  Idoles  of  marble  and  earth.  Amonge  their  Idoles  of 
marble  there  standeth  a  lyon  havynge  a  hole  throwgh  the  necke, 
into  the  whiche  they  poure  the  bludde  of  the  miserable  sacri 
fice,  that  it  maye  from  thence  runne  down  into  a  syncke  of 
marble.  They  cutte  not  their  throtes,  but  open  the  very  brestes 
and  take  owtt  their  hartes  yet  pantynge  with  the  hotte  bludde, 
whereof  they  anoynte  the  lyppes  of  theyre  Idoles  and  suffer 
the  resydue  to  faule  into  the  synke.  This  doone,  they  burne 
the  harte  and  bowels,  supposynge  the  smoke  thereof  to  be 
acceptable  to  their  Goddes.  Of  their  Idoles  one  is  made  to  the 
shape  of  a  man  bowynge  downe  his  head  and  lookynge  toward 
the  synke  of  bludde,  as  it  were  acceptyng  the  offeringe  of  the 
slayne  sacrifyce.  They  eate  the  fleshe  of  the  armes,  thighes, 
and  legges.  They  founde  a  streame  of  congealed  bludde  as 
thoughe  it  had  runne  from  a  bouchery." 

The  inhabitants  of  Cozumella  "  sacrifyce  children   of  both  . 
kyndes  to  theyr  Zemes,  which  are  the  images  of  their  familiar 
and  domesticall  spirites  whych  theye  honour  as  Goddes."  * 

Children  were  sacrificed,  says  Molina,  at  all  the  chief  huacas 
of  the  provinces  of  Peru.2  Young  children  and  boys  were 
sacrificed  to  two  huacas  at  Hunoyan.3  When  the  Indians  were 
ill,  their  own  children  were  sometimes  offered  as  a  sacrifice  to 
Viracocha.4 

The  sculpture  of  the  ruined  temples  at  Palenque  presents 
many  representations  of  the  sacrifice  of  children.  Female 
figures  erect,  adorned  with  jewels  and  ornaments,  are  found, 
each  figure  with  a  child  in  her  arms,  not  in  the  attitude  of 
receiving  a  mother's  nourishment,  but  held  by  the  parent  in 
such  a  manner  as  if  in  sorrowful  contemplation  of  her  infant 
victim.  Other  female  figures  are  represented  seated  and  in  the 
most  melancholy  postures,  with  downcast  heads  and  looks  as 
if  mourning  for  that  loss  which  had  made  them  motherless. 


1  Martyr's  Decades,  156.  2  Narrative,  58-59. 

3  Arriaga,  265.  4  JOs.  D'Acosta,  bk.  5,  chap.  19. 


216  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

In  an  inner  apartment,  believed  to  be  the  sanctum  of  a  temple, 
is  sculptured  (in  basso)  the  resemblance  of  the  dread  altar,  por 
traying  the  entrance  of  the  fiery  furnace,  for  even  the  bars  and 
grating  are  distinctly  visible.  A  large  and  monstrous  mask,  or 
demoniac  face,  is  directly  above  the  fire-grating,  representing  that 
of  the  remorseless  deity.  On  either  side  of  the  altar-furnace  are 
stationed  a  young  and  an  elderly  priest  of  sacrifice,  both  stand 
ing  erect  upon  crushed  and  prostrate  human  beings  ;  the  priests 
have  their  hands  and  arms  elevated,  and  each  holds  an  infant 
raised  up  toward  the  demon  deity,  as  if  in  the  act  of  present 
ing  the  victims.  The  sculptured  mask  has  a  hideous  face,  dis 
torted  eyes,  a  ravenous  and  distended  mouth,  and  its  tongue 
hanging  out,  as  if  athirst  for  infant  blood,  thus  presenting  a 
perfect  portraiture  of  the  child-craving  appetite  of  the  god.  The 
sculpture  described  is,  as  we  have  stated,  upon  the  stuccoed 
walls  of  Palenque,  and  we  believe  was  placed  there  as  a  record 
of  a  religious  custom  practised  anterior  to  the  walls  being 
stuccoed.1 

The  Chibchas  of  Bogota  offered  sacrifices  of  children  to  the 
sun.  Their  caciques  had  a  receptacle  on  the  beams  of  their 
houses,  into  which  they  placed  a  boy  who  had  been  killed  for 
a  sacrifice.  His  blood  trickled  down  the  posts  of  the  house.2 

A  few  instances  of  the  sacrifice  of  children  as  an  act  of  wor 
ship  appear  among  the  tribes  of  the  territory  now  embraced 
within  the  United  States.  "  The  Florida  savages  sacrificed 
their  first-born."3  The  Eskimos  sacrificed  the  favorite  child 
on  the  grave  of  its  deceased  parent.4 

Self-mutilation  was  another  form  of  sacrifice.  The  funereal 
mourners,  generally  the  relatives  of  the  deceased,  cut  off  fingers, 
knocked  out  teeth,  punctured  flesh,  and  did  many  other  acts 
wholly  unutilitarian,  but  which  manifested  the  great  sorrow 
felt  by  the  survivors,  and  thus  were  supposed  to  be  pleasing 
to  the  dead. 


1  Jones,  Ancient  America,  141,  seq.  2  P.  Simon,  248-49. 

3  3  Picart,  129.  4  ChappelPs  Voyage,  190. 


BURIAL-CUSTOMS.  217 

Describing  the  death  of  A-ra-poo-ash,  chief  of  the  Crows, 
and  the  exhibitions  of  grief  on  the  part  of  his  nation  that  fol 
lowed,  Bonner,  in  his  life  of  Beckworth,  says,1  quoting  Beck- 
worth's  language,  "  Every  warrior  immediately  set  up  the 
most  dismal  cryings  that  I  have  ever  heard  in  my  life.  I  des 
patched  a  herald  to  the  village  to  inform  them  of  the  head 
chief's  death.  When  we  drew  in  sight  of  the  village,  we  found 
every  lodge  laid  prostrate.  We  entered  amid  shrieks,  cries, 
and  yells.  Blood  was  streaming  from  every  conceivable  part 
of  the  bodies  of  all  who  were  old  enough  to  comprehend  their 
loss.  Hundreds  of  fingers  were  dismembered ;  hair  torn  from 
the  head  lay  in  profusion  about  the  paths.  A  herald  having 
been  despatched  to  our  other  village  to  acquaint  them  with 
the  death  of  our  head  chief  and  request  them  to  assemble  at 
the  Rosebud,  in  conformity  with  this  summons  over  ten  thou 
sand  Crows  met  at  the  place  indicated.  Such  a  scene  of  dis 
orderly,  vociferous  mourning  no  imagination  can  conceive  nor 
any  pen  portray.  Long  Hair  cut  off  a  large  roll  of  his  hair, — 
a  thing  he  was  never  known  to  do  before.  The  cutting  and 
hacking  of  human  flesh  exceeded  all  my  previous  experience : 
fingers  were  dismembered  as  readily  as  twigs,  and  blood  was 
poured  out  like  water.  Many  of  the  warriors  would  cut  two 
gashes  nearly  the  entire  length  of  their  arm,  then,  separating 
the  skin  from  the  flesh  at  one  end,  would  grasp  it  in  their 
other  hand  and  rip  it  asunder  to  the  shoulder." 

Among  the  Dacotahs,  "  when  a  death  happens  in  a  family, 
no  matter  how  well  they  are  clothed,  the  good  clothes  are 
stripped  off  and  given  away,  and  the  worst  old  rags  substituted 
in  their  place.  They  gash  their  legs  and  arms,  and  leave  them 
to  get  well  without  the  least  attention.  Some  of  them  carry 
their  grief  so  far  as  to  raise  the  skin  of  their  arms  and  pierce 
holes  with  their  knives  and  put  pegs  through  them.  They 
continue  their  mourning  about  a  year."2 

Says  Belden,  "  The  practice  of  disfiguration  prevails  exten- 

1  P.  264,  seq.  2  2  Wis.  Hist.  Coll.,  180. 


218  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

sively  among  nearly  all  the  Western  tribes.  One  day  an  In 
dian  boy  was  thrown  from  his  pony  with  such  violence  that 
he  died.  His  mother  and  sisters,  as  a  sign  of  their  grief,  cut 
off  a  finger  each  at  the  first  joint.  I  have  seen  the  Crows  gash 
their  arms,  legs,  bodies,  and  faces  when  their  friends  died.  At 
Fort  Phil  Kearney  it  is  said  that  hundreds  of  fingers  were 
cut  off,  and  gashes  innumerable  made  on  their  persons,  by  the 
friends  of  the  dead.  When  a  warrior  is  killed,  his  pony  is 
gashed  in  the  sides  and  on  the  legs  with  knives,  to  make  him 
feel  sorry  for  the  death  of  his  master."  J 

The  same  custom  prevailed  among  all  the  Northern  tribes. 
Among  the  Mexicans  their  self-mutilations  were  as  cruel  as 
their  bodies  would  bear,  for,  in  their  pious  fanaticism,  "they 
mangled  their  flesh  as  if  it  had  been  insensible,  and  let  their 
blood  run  in  profusion."  They  pierced  themselves  with  the 
sharp  spines  of  the  aloe,  and  then  bathed  their  bloody  bodies 
in  a  pond  at  the  great  temple,  which  was  called  Ezapan,  be 
cause  always  discolored  with  blood.2 

In  the  pictographs  in  Lord  Kingsborough's  "Antiquities  of 
Mexico"  there  are  many  representations  of  mourners  thrusting 
a  weapon  through  their  tongues;  and  among  the  uncivilized 
tribes  of  South  America  the  same  practice  prevailed.  Among 
all  the  Brazilian  tribes  mutilations  were  a  part  of  the  funeral 
ceremonial.  Some  cut  off  fingers  at  the  death  of  a  kinsman,3 
others  toes.  The  Mumanes,  if  all  their  fingers  had  been  cut  off, 
began  on  their  toes.4 

The  most  common  mutilation  in  these  mourning  ceremonies^ 
was  cutting  the  hair.    Among  the  Peruvians,  even  the  plucking   __ 
out  of  an  eyebrow  and  blowing  it  into  the  air  was  thought  to 
be  an  acceptable  offering. 

Under  the  head  of  sacrifices  and  burial-ceremonies  we  have 
seen  that  the  tombs  of  all  of  the  American  tribes  have  been 
their  temples.  Said  Prudentius,  the  Roman  bard,  "  there  were 

1  Belden,  1 60,  seq.  2  I  Clavigero,  283-85. 

3  i  Southey,  345. 

*  I  ib.,  417;  D'Orbigny,  L'Homme  Am6ricain,  238. 


B  URIAL-  CUSTOMS. 


219 


as  many  temples  of  gods  as  sepulchres,"  implying  that  they 
were  the  same  and  identical  among  the  ancient  classical 
nations.  The  Collas  of  Peru  took  more  care  of  their  tombs 
than  of  the  houses  of  the  living.  These  tombs  were  small 
towers,  the  magnitude  of  which  depended  on  the  rank  and 
wealth  of  the  deceased.1 

Many  of  the  Peruvian  tombs  were  places  of  worship.  The 
burial-towers  of  Peru  were  often  sprinkled  with  the  blood  of 
sacrifices,  and  most  of  the  huacas,  or  sacred  places,  were  the 
tombs  of  the  dead.  Many  of  the  tribes  of  South  America 
built  a  rough  hut  for  the  reception  of  the  skeletons  of  the  dead, 
and  these  were  their  temples.  Mr.  Stedman  mentions  one 
which  contained  four  hundred  skeletons,  which  were  hung  up 
therein.2 

Columbus  mentions  a  sepulchre  as  large  as  a  house,  built  on 
a  mountain  and  elaborately  sculptured.  A  body  lay  therein, 
which  was  uncovered.3 

"  De  Soto,"  says  Biedma,  in  his  narrative,  "  opened  a  large 
temple  built  in  the  woods,  in  which  were  buried  the  chiefs  of 
the  country." 

The  Virginia  kings,  after  their  bodies  were  prepared  by  a 
species  of  mummification,  were  laid  upon  a  shelf  in  the  temple, 
where  a  priest  remained  in  constant  attendance  night  and  day.4 

"  The  traditional  name  of  the  ancient  burial-mounds  among 
the  Choctaws  was  Nanne-Yah, — the  hills  or  mounts  of  God, 
a  name  almost  identical,  it  is  said,  with  that  of  the  Mexican 
pyramids.  Who  can  fail  to  perceive  that  the  same  principles 
of  architecture  have  governed  the  construction  of  both,  and 
that  the  temple-mound  of  Kentucky  is  but  a  ruder  form  of  the 
Mexican  teocalli  ?"  5 

The  tribes  in  the  United  States  were  well  acquainted  with 
the  character  of  the  sepulchral  mounds.  These  mounds  were 
regarded  with  great  reverence,  and  were  frequently  resorted 

1  Cieza,  364.  2  I  Surinam,  400. 

3  Select  Letters,  192.  4  Beverly,  47, 

5  i  Collins's  Kentucky,  385. 


220  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

to  by  the  Indians  as  places  sacred  to  their  devotional  exer 
cises.1 

In  Mexico  and  the  States  of  Central  America,  and  in  Peru, 
where  the  temples  had  attained  a  magnitude  and  beauty  of 
architecture  rarely  surpassed  anywhere  among  the  pagan 
peoples,  their  use  as  tombs  had  not  become  obsolete.  In  the 
great  temple  at  Cuzco,  an  array  of  Incas,  seated  in  all  their 
rich  vestments,  was  the  most  striking  feature  of  its  interior.  In 
Mexico,  the  kings  and  lords,  after  having  been  prepared  for 
burial,  were  placed  in  some  temple.  Even  the  idols  found  in 
these  temples  were  generally  the  images  of  the  dead,  and  often 
contained  their  ashes.  Among  the  Iroquois  a  fire  is  built  at 
the  head  of  the  grave  of  the  dead,  immediately  after  the  burial, 
around  which  the  relatives  and  friends  sit  for  nine  successive 
nights.2  Thus  tombs  have  always  been  regarded  as  sacred  to 
religious  devotions. 

Tire  utilitarian  view  of  sacrifice  has  now  almost  passed  away. 
The  God  of  the  Christian  world  asks  naught  but  the  sacrifice 
of  a  broken  and  contrite  heart.  But  the  method  of  worshipping 
him  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  by  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass 
has  its  prototype  in  the  funeral  rite  of  the  savage.  The  fire  on 
the  grave  of  the  savage  for  the  spirit  to  warm  itself  by  and  cook 
its  food  survives  in  the  light  on  the  graves  of  Catholic  Europe 
on  All  Souls'  day  and  in  the  light  on  the  sacrificial  altar  of  the 
Roman  Church.  The  mutilation  in  the  primitive  funeral  cere 
mony  now  appears  in  the  cropped  hair  and  lacerating  garments 
of  religious  devoteeism.  Among  the  more  civilized  races  of 
America,  the  simpler  forms  of  sacrifice  survived  amid  an  elab 
orate  sacrificial  ritual. 


1  Hunter's  Memoirs,  307,  seq.  a  Life  of  Mary  Jamison,  107. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

ANIMAL- WORSHIP. 

Its  animistic  origin — Immortality  of  the  spirits  of  animals — Transmigration  of 
human  souls  into  animals — Omens — Manitology — Totemism — Animal  names 
given  to  human  beings — Traditionary  descent  of  tribes  from  animals — To 
temism  in  art — Heraldry — Totemic  writing — Tattooing — Probable  totemic  origin 
of  the  animal  mounds — Traditionary  descent  of  animals  from  the  human  race 
— Metamorphosis — Animal  dress — Worship  of  animals — Fabulous  animals — 
Animals  in  the  role  of  creators. 

THE  worship  of  animals  has  been  supposed  by  many  my- 
thologists  to  have  originated  in  symbolism.  This  explanation 
of  it  is  wholly  unsatisfactory.  Symbolism  is  unknown  to  a 
very  primitive  people,  and  it  is  among  them  that  animal-wor 
ship  is  universal.  Again,  this  symbolism,  which  is  used  as  an 
explanation  of  animal-worship  among  the  advanced  nations, 
such  as  the  Egyptians,  must  itself  be  explained.  The  basis  of 
the  science  of  Naology,  as  the  derivation  of  the  word  implies, 
must  be  the  representation  of  an  idea  by  a  sign;  the  origin 
of  animal  symbolism  in  mythology  can  be  found  in  totemism. 
Among  the  natives  of  America,  animal-worship  has  originated 
in  animism,  or  spirit-worship.  Among  primitive  peoples  all 
animals  are  supposed  to  be  endowed  with  souls.  In  many 
cases  the  souls  of  human  beings  have  transmigrated  into  ani 
mals.  Hence  among  many  of  our  wildest  tribes  a  likeness  has 
been  recognized  between  an  animal  and  some  deceased  relative 
or  friend,  and  the  animal  has  been  addressed  as  the  person 
would  have  been,  and  has  been  honored  on  account  of  such 
resemblance  with  an  adoration  which,  among  primitive  peoples, 
is  equivalent  to  worship.  In  the  cosmogony  of  many  of  the 
tribes,  animals  have  figured  as  the  progenitors  of  the  tribe,  and 

15  221 


222  PRIMITIVE    SUPERSTITIONS. 

in  a  few  tribal  traditions  they  appear  as  creators.  This  creation 
in  some  cases  is  fiatic  in  its  nature,  but  usually  it  can  be  traced 
to  a  belief  in  a  natural  descent  from  the  animal  which  stands 
as  a  progenitor  of  the  tribe  and  is  therefore  held  in  great  vene 
ration  as  an  ancestor.  Here  we  have  a  point  of  contact  with 
ancestral  worship.  This  very  curious  and  primitive  belief  in 
descent  from  animals  has  originated  from  the  totemic  system 
upon  which  their  social  system  rests.  The  division  of  a  tribe 
into  the  families  of  the  bear,  turtle,  crane,  etc.,  indicates  a  time 
when  families  claiming  descent  from  ancestors  bearing  those 
names  have  banded  themselves  together  for  their  common  in 
terest,  generally  for  defence.  That  an  ancestor  should  be 
named  the  bear  or  turtle  or  crane,  indicates  a  time  still  farther 
back  when  the  name  was  given  him  for  some  good  reason. 
A  great  many  ethnologists  have  supposed  those  names  were 
given  to  designate  a  quality  or  characteristic  of  the  individual : 
a  very  slow  man  would  be  called  a  turtle  ;  a  man  with  very 
long  legs,  a  crane.  Although  there  is  no  doubt  that  such  nick 
naming  as  this  has  occurred,  and  has  originated  many  such 
names,  yet  the  totemic  system  has  a  much  broader  and  deeper 
foundation  than  this,  upon  which  their  social  structure  is  built. 
Totemism  is  explained  by  manitology,  or  the  worship  of  mani- 
tous.  The  manitou  is  a  personal  deity, — almost  always  an  ani 
mal, — chosen  by  each  individual  at  that  most  important  period 
of  his  life — when  he  becomes  of  age.  This  animal  manitou  is 
always  pointed  out  to  the  individual  in  a  dream  which  is  pro 
duced  by  the  greatest  religious  act  of  his  life, — the  first  fast 
The  animal  then  becomes  an  object  of  worship,  and  its  skin  or 
stuffed  body  is  carried  about  the  person  as  a  fetich,  or  its  likeness 
painted  on  the  body  or  sculptured  on  the  weapons.  Heraldry, 
animal  dress,  tattooing,  and  the  metamorphoses  of  men  to  ani 
mals  and  animals  to  men  thus  originate.  The  prevalence  of  the 
animal  forms  in  primitive  art  can  here  find  explanation.  Hence 
the  animal  appears  as  the  manitou,  or  personal  fetich,  and  then 
develops  into  the  totem,  or  sacred  animal  of  the  gens  or  family 
which  descends  from  that  person.  Under  favorable  conditions 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP. 


223 


it  then  appears  as  the  creator,  in  which  capacity  it  gradually 
assumes  a  fabulous  nature,  and  is  the  author  of  all  changes  in 
the  economy  of  the  universe  as  far  as  known  to  the  peoples 
among  whom  the  myths  occur.  From  animals  the  natives 
have  descended,  according  to  tradition.  Upon  animals  they 
depend  for  their  earthly  blessings,  and  look  to  them  in  a  wor 
ship  which  will  be  noticed  throughout  this  chapter.  In  the 
future  life  they  also  figure  in  as  important  a  role  as  in  this.  In 
art  they  appear  as  idols.  Their  figures  are  sculptured  and 
painted  on  houses,  temples,  and  natural  rocks.  They  are  tat 
tooed  upon  the  bodies.  Their  skins  are  worn  as  medicine- 
sacks  and  also  as  garments.  In  this  latter  capacity  they  have 
tended  to  produce  the  curious  legends  of  metamorphosis 
noticed  in  this  chapter  and  elsewhere.  Their  cries  and  actions, 
voluntary  and  involuntary,  become  the  omens  of  the  savage 
tribes,  and  originate  the  divination  and  augury  of  the  more 
civilized.  Dreams  are  their  revelations  to  man.  Disease  is 
produced  by  their  angry  spirits,  which  are  everywhere  present 
and  ready  to  avenge  an  act  of  impiety  to  their  kind.  Hence 
all  the  tribes  worshipped  the  commonest  animals.  They  sup 
posed  that  all  animals  of  land,  air,  and  water  were  endowed 
with  immortal  spirits  and  could  punish  those  who  maltreated 
them.  When  they  worshipped  any  of  these  they  imagined 
that  they  would  obtain  the  aid  of  their  spirits. 

The  immortality  of  the  souls  of  all  animals  is  as  thoroughly 
and  universally  believed  as  that  of  human  souls.  The  subject 
has  received  so  much  consideration  in  other  parts  of  this  work 
that  only  a  few  authorities  will  be  introduced  here.  Among 
the  natives  of  Canada  the  spirits  of  animals  were  thought  to  be 
immortal.1  Among  the  Western  tribes,  says  Mr.  Dodge,  the 
phantoms  of  all  animals  are  supposed  to  go  to  the  happy  hunt 
ing-grounds.  The  Indians  have  not  yet  separated  themselves 
from  the  whole  animated  creation,  and  do  not  exclude  animals 
from  their  world  of  spirits.2  Says  Mr.  Buchanan,  "  The  Knis- 

1  I  Jes.  Rel.,  13.  2  Buchanan,  181. 


224  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

tenaux  have  a  place  assigned  to  animal  spirits,  and  on  this  side 
of  the  land  of  the  dead  Knistenaux.  Their  spirits  have  to  pass 
through  the  land  of  animal  spirits,  when  the  shades  of  the  ani 
mals  can  avenge  their  wrongs."  z  Chateaubriand  says  that  all 
the  Indians  granted  immortality  to  the  spirits  of  insects,  reptiles, 
fishes,  and  birds.2 

All  of  the  Indians  fancied  that  the  souls  of  animals  came  to 
see  how  their  bodies  were  treated,  and  afterward  acquainted 
both  the  living  and  the  dead  with  the  facts ;  and  that  if  they 
were  ill  treated  they  would  not  suffer  themselves  to  be  any 
longer  taken,  either  in  this  world  or  the  next.3 

The  intelligence  of  these  spiritual  agents  and  their  interest  in 
human  affairs,  according  to  the  theories  of  the  aborigines,  were 
demonstrated  in  omens,  animal  oracles,  and  augury. 

The  Aztecs,  in  their  migration,  appear  to  have  received  their 
oracles  from  a  bird,  crying  tilini,  tilini, — "  let  us  go,  let  us  go." 
This  led  them  from  place  to  place.  The  importance  of  the 
little  bird  tilini-tochan,  whose  note  is  still  heard  in  Mexico, 
tends  to  show  how  great  an  influence  the  animal  world  has  had 
in  the  history  of  primitive  peoples.  The  Aztecs  founded 
Tenochtitlan  in  obedience  to  an  oracle  bidding  them  go  until 
they  found  an  eagle  on  a  tuna-tree.  The  conditions  were  met 
when  they  came  upon  the  site  of  the  above  city,  for  there  sat 
an  eagle  upon  a  tuna-tree  growing  out  of  a  rock,  with  her 
wings  displayed  facing  the  sun,  and  with  a  beautiful  bird  in  her 
talons.  They  prostrated  themselves  before  this  eagle,  which 
bowed  her  head  in  recognition  of  them.  Their  arms  and  those 
of  the  Mexicans  at  this  day  are  an  eagle  in  a  tuna-tree. 

Among  hunting  tribes  the  cawing  of  a  crow  at  night  would 
cause  a  large  party  of  warriors  to  run  for  home  and  give  up  an 
expedition.  The  Comanches  regarded  the  wolf  as  a  brother, 
and  said  that  it  warned  them  of  danger.  If  one  sprang  up 
before  them  in  their  journeys  and  barked  or  howled,  they 


1  Buchanan,  275.  2  2  Chateaubriand's  Travels,  38. 

3  2  Picart,  85. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  22$ 

would  turn  aside,  and  travel  no  more  in  that  direction  that 
day.1  The  Pecos  said  an  eagle  conversed  with  them  and  fore 
told  the  arrival  of  the  white  men.2  The  Ojibways  believed 
much  in  omens.  The  barking  of  foxes  and  of  wolves,  the 
bleating  of  deer,  the  screeching  of  owls,  the  flight  of  uncom 
mon  kinds  of  birds,  the  moaning  noise  of  a  partridge,  were 
ominous  of  ill.  The  two  last  were  certain  omens  of  death. 
But  the  sailing  of  an  eagle  to  and  fro,  and  the  noise  of  a  raven, 
were  omens  of  good.3  The  inhabitants  of  St.  Catherine's 
Island,  on  the  coast  of  California,  had  two  crows  in  the  court 
of  their  temple,  which  were  their  oracles.  They  were  thrown 
into  great  alarm  because  they  were  killed  by  the  Spaniards.4 

When  the  mankawis,  a  species  of  quail,  perch  at  night  upon 
a  cabin  belonging  to  a  Seminole,  the  inhabitant  of  that  cabin 
prepares  for  death.  If  a  white  bird  sports  aloof  in  the  air,  this 
indicates  a  storm.  If  it  flies  in  the  evening  before  the  traveller, 
throwing  itself  from  one  wing  upon  the  other,  as  if  frightened, 
it  forebodes  danger.5 

Among  the  Mayas  the  songs  of  birds  and  cries  of  animals 
were  omens.6 

Among  the  Northern  tribes  the  march  is  regulated  by  a 
sorcerer  according  to  good  or  bad  omens.  If  the  sorcerer  but 
cries  out  at  night  that  he'has  seen  a  spider  on  a  willow-leaf,  the 
army  must  break  up.7  If  they  hear  the  howling  of  a  large 
wolf  which  they  call  the  medicine-wolf,  when  travelling,  sad 
ness  is  at  once  visible  in  their  countenances,  for  it  is  considered 
as  foreboding  some  calamity  near  at  hand.8 

Small  ducks,  among  the  Abipones,  which  flew  about  together 
at  night,  making  a  loud  hiss,  were  omens  of  evil,  and  were 
believed  to  be  spirits  of  the  dead.9  Among  the  Brazilian  tribes 
the  screaming  of  vultures  was  an  omen  of  death.  The  Para- 


1  Battey's  Quaker,  etc.,  333.  2  Davis,  El  Gringo,  153. 

3  Autobiography  of  Kah-Ge-Ga-Bow,  48.  jj  McCulloh,  Ant.,  112. 
5  I  Chateaubriand's  Travels,  246.  6  2  Brasseur,  Hist.  Mexico,  51. 

7  2  Chateaubriand's  Travels,  21.  8  Parker's  Journal,  243,  seq. 

9  i  Dobrizhoffer,  331  ;  2  ib.,  270. 


226  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

guayans  consulted  the  songs  of  birds  and  cries  of  animals  as 
auguries  to  guide  their  conduct.1 

The  Peruvian  priests  inspected  the  entrails  of  beasts  for 
omens.2  When  the  animals  were  opened  and  the  lungs  were 
palpitating,  it  was  favorable.3 

The  llama  was  used  at  the  sacrifice  at  the  feast  of  Raymi, 
to  get  the  auguries.  When  the  body  was  opened,  the  priest 
sought,  in  the  appearances  which  it  exhibited,  to  read  the  lesson 
of  the  mysterious  future.4 

Let  us  now  pass  to  the  consideration  of  the  subject  of  mani- 
tology,  or  the  worship  of  manitous  among  the  tribes,  and 
make  it  introductory  to  the  subject  of  totemism.  After  our 
consideration  of  these  two  subjects  we  will  understand  their 
animal-worship. 

The  most  prominent  belief  in  the  Indian  religion  was  their 
doctrine  of  manitous,  or  what  may  be  denominated  manitology. 
All  the  tribes  had  some  equivalent  for  this,  although  the  word 
used  is  Algonkin.  The  word  manitou  did  not  mean  the  Deity 
or  Great  Spirit,  as  has  been  erroneously  asserted  :  it  was  con 
fined  to  a  spiritual  and  mysterious  power  thought  to  reside  in 
some  material  form.  The  Potawatomie  had  his  tutelary  spirit, 
generally  in  the  shape  of  some  animal  he  had  met  in  his  dreams. 
To  this  animal  he  addressed  his  prayers  and  stated  his  wants ; 
he  consulted  it  in  all  difficulties,  and  frequently  conceived  that 
he  had  derived  relief  from  it.  Of  course  he  abstained  from 
eating  the  animal,  and  would  rather  starve  than  sacrilegiously 
feed  upon  his  animal  idol.  He  knew  that  others  had  different 
manitous,  and  did  not  feel  bound  to  protect  his  animal  from  his 
companions,  for  he  thought  there  was  no  virtue  in  the  animal 
for  anybody  but  himself.5  Among  the  Illinois,  each  man  had  a 
manitou,  which  was  some  animal  about  which  he  had  dreamed, 
and  in  which  he  placed  all  his  confidence  for  success.6 


1  Caddell's  Hist.  Missions,  Japan  and  Paraguay,  30. 
a  i  Zarate,  52.  3  2  Garcilasso,  161. 

*  i  Prescott,  Peru,  106.  s  i  Keating,  nS. 

6  Marquette,  Recit  de  Voyage,  57. 


ANIAfAL-  WORSHIP.  227 

The  power  of  these  manitous  to  deliver  them  from  danger  is 
well  illustrated  in  the  following  tale : 

A  canoe  full  of  Ojibways  was  once  pursued  by  enemies. 
They  endeavored  to  escape,  but  found  the  enemy  gaining  on 
them  rapidly.  At  last  they  began  calling  on  their  manitous. 
One  called  upon  the  sturgeon,  and  their  speed  was  soon  equal 
to  that  fish's,  and  the  enemy  were  left  far  behind.  But  the  stur 
geon  was  a  short-winded  fish,  and  soon  became  tired,  and  the 
enemy  gained  on  them.  All  the  manitous  but  one  were  tried 
in  vain,  and  they  began  to  give  themselves  up  for  lost,  when  a 
young  man  whom  they  had  disregarded  called  upon  his  mani- 
tou,  which  happened  to  be  the  saw-bill  (duck),  and  held  its 
skin  by  the  neck  in  the  water.  Immediately  the  canoe  began 
to  glide  swiftly  away  at  the  usual  speed  of  a  saw-bill,  and  the 
enemy  were  left  far  behind  and  gave  up  the  chase.1 

The  initial  fast  at  the  age  of  puberty  which  every  Indian 
underwent  was  for  the  purpose  of  individually  becoming  aware 
of  this  personal  manitou.  When  revealed  in  dreams,  his  pur 
pose  was  accomplished,  and  he  adopted  that  revelation,  which 
was  generally  some  bird  or  animal,  as  his  personal  or  guardian 
manitou.  There  was  no  exigency  in  life  in  which  it  could  not 
help  him.  The  misfortune  was  that  these  manitous  were  not 
of  equal  power.  Hence  the  Indian  was  never  sure  that  his 
neighbor  was  not  under  the  guardianship  of  a  manitou  stronger 
than  his  own.2 

Each  primitive  Indian  had  his  guardian  manitou,  to  whom 
he  looked  for  counsel,  guidance,  and  protection.  These  spiritual 
allies  were  gained  by  the  following  process.  At  the  age  of 
fourteen  or  fifteen  the  Indian  boy  retired  to  some  solitary  place 
and  remained  for  days  without  food.  Superstitious  expectancy 
and  the  exhaustion  of  abstinence  rarely  failed  of  their  results. 
His  sleep  was  haunted  by  visions,  and  the  form  which  first  or 
most  often  appeared  was  that  of  his  guardian  manitou  (almost 
always  an  animal).  An  eagle  or  bear  was  the  vision  of  a  des- 

1  Jones,  Ojibways,  89,  go.  2  I  Schoolcraft,  34. 


228  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

lined  warrior ;  a  wolf,  of  a  hunter ;  a  serpent,  of  a  medicine-man. 
The  Indian  henceforth  wore  about  his  person  the  object  re 
vealed  in  his  dream,  or  some  portion  of  it,  within  which  was 
thought  to  reside  its  spirit.  The  Indian  yielded  to  it  a  sort  of 
worship  and  made  offerings  to  it.  The  superstition  now  be 
came  mere  fetich-worship.1 

It  is  astonishing  what  an  influence  this  superstition  had  on 
the  daily  life  of  the  Indian.  Mr.  Cass  knew  an  old  Dacotah 
chief  who  had  never  been  to  war  because  he  had  dreamed  of 
an  antelope,  the  peace  spirit  of  his  people. 

When  the  tribes  pitched  their  tents  they  took  very  little 
care  to  guard  against  a  surprise,  because  they  placed  great  con 
fidence  in  their  manitous,  which  they  always  carried  with  them, 
and  which  they  were  persuaded  took  upon  themselves  the  office 
of  sentinels,  and  they  slept  very  securely  under  their  protection. 
These  manitous  were  called  by  some  tribes  wakons, — that  is, 
spirits.2 

The  Arkansas,  next  to  the  Natches  the  most  civilized  of 
the  aborigines  of  the  United  States,  had  manitous  which  they 
always  consulted.  Their  manitou  was  sometimes  an  animal, 
sometimes  a  bird,  and  to  it  they  attributed  all  their  good  or 
bad  luck.3 

The  early  missionaries  found  great  difficulty  in  inducing  the 
natives  to  give  up  these  guardian  spirits,  which  they  thought 
visited  them  and  gave  them  valuable  information.4 

These  manitous  often  had  sacrifices  offered  to  them.  Says 
Marest,  "  The  Illinois  worship  manitous,  which  are  the  skins 
of  beasts  or  birds.  They  hang  them  up  in  their  wigwams  and 
offer  to  them  sacrifices."  5  A  famous  sagamore  of  a  tribe  in 
Maine  had  a  marten's  skin  for  his  manitou,  which  if  laid  under 
the  head  brought  dreams  at  night,  and  to  which  he  offered 
sacrifices.6 

After  an  animal  had  become  a  manitou  the  individual  would 

1  Parkman,  Jesuits,  Ixxi.  2  Lewis  and  Clarke,  Lond.  ed.,  Si. 

a  3  French's  Hist.  Coll.,  127.  *  Jones's  Ojibways,  270. 

5  Kip's  Jes.  Mis.,  200.  6  2  Maine  Hist.  Coll.,  94. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP. 


229 


not  kill  it.  Beltrami  gives  an  incident  illustrative  of  this. 
He  says,  "  One  day  when  I  was  fishing,  a  Sioux  was  greatly 
offended  at  my  asking  him  to  get  me  some  frogs  for  bait.  The 
frog,  it  appeared,  was  his  manitou.  .  .  .  If  an  Indian  does  kill 
his  manitou  by  accident,  he  begs  for  pardon,  and  says,  '  It  is 
better  that  you  should  have  been  killed  by  me  than  by  any 
other  man,  for  he  would  sell  your  skin,  whereas  I  shall  keep  it 
with  the  greatest  devotion ;'  and  accordingly  it  takes  its  station 
among  the  divinities  in  the  medicine-bag."  z 

The  Californians  had  about  the  same  system  of  manitology 
as  the  tribes  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  At  an  early  age 
they  were  placed  under  the  protection  of  a  tutelar  divinity, 
which  was  supposed  to  take  the  form  of  some  animal.  To  dis 
cover  the  particular  beast  which  was  to  guide  his  future  des 
tinies,  the  child  was  intoxicated  by  a  plant  called  pibat,  and 
kept  three  or  four  days  without  food  until  he  saw  his  divinity, 
which  was  immediately  tattooed  on  the  breast  and  arms  of  the 
novitiate.2 

The  Zapotecs  had  a  very  curious  manner  of  selecting  a 
manitou  for  a  child  at  its  birth.  When  a  woman  was  about  to 
be  delivered,  the  relatives  assembled  in  the  hut  and  commenced 
to  draw  on  the  floor  figures  of  different  animals,  rubbing  each 
one  out  as  fast  as  completed.  The  one  that  remained  at  the 
time  of  the  birth  was  called  the  child's  second  self,  and  as  soon 
as  grown  up  he  procured  the  animal,  and  believed  his  health 
and  existence  bound  up  with  it.3  Another  manner  of  obtaining 
a  manitou  among  the  Zapotecs  was  to  assign  to  the  child  the 
first  bird  or  beast  that  appeared  after  the  birth  of  the  child.4 

In  Yucatan  it  was  customary  to  leave  an  infant  alone  in  a 
place  sprinkled  with  ashes.  Next  morning  the  ashes  were  ex 
amined,  and  if  the  footprints  of  any  animal  were  found  on 
them,  that  animal  was  chosen  as  the  deity  of  the  infant.5 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  manner  of  choosing  the  manitou 


2  Beltrami,  229.  2  I  Bancroft,  414.  3  i  ib.,  661. 

4  2  ib.,  277.  s  2  ib.,  181. 


230  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

or  guardian  spirit  has  changed  a  little  among  the  civilized 
tribes,  but  the  same  faith  in  their  power  as  spiritual  agents  sur 
vived.  The  natives  of  Honduras  thought  their  destiny  was  so 
leagued  with  these  guardian  spirits  that  whenever  anything 
happened  to  the  animal  it  happened  to  them  also.1 

The  Quiches  of  Guatemala,  Herrera  quaintly  enough  writes, 
"are  deluded  by  the  devil  to  believe  that  their  life  depend- 
eth  upon  the  life  of  such  and  such  a  beast  which  they  take 
with  them  as  their  familiar  spirit,  and  think  when  the  beast 
dieth  they  must  die.  When  he  is  chased,  then  their  hearts 
pant ;  when  he  is  faint,  they  are  faint."  2 

The  Indians  could  see  no  difference  between  their  system  of 
manitous  and  those  of  the  white  race,  for  they  say  the  Bos 
ton  people  have  for  their  manitou  the  eagle,  and  the  English 
people  a  lion. 

From  the  selection  and  worship  of  manitous  by  the  indi 
vidual  we  will  pass  to  the  subject  of  totemism.  We  will  not 
look  upon  the  subject  from  the  social  stand-point,  except  as  far 
as  may  be  necessary  to  explain  the  religious  nature  of  the  sub 
ject.  The  totemic  social  system  has  been  most  ably  elucidated 
among  the  natives  of  America  by  Mr.  Morgan,  who  has  pursued 
the  study  of  the  subject  among  other  races  sufficiently  to  point 
to  a  time  when  all  the  races  of  the  earth  have  had  this  primi 
tive  social  system  among  them.  As  introductory  to  the  sub 
ject  of  totemism,  let  me  say  that  among  all  those  tribes  which 
had  not  emerged  from  barbarism,  names  of  animals  were  given 
to  many  members  of  the  tribes.  There  is  some  evidence  to 
show  that  this  habit  has  survived  even  among  the  more  civil 
ized,  and  there  are  traditions  which  point  to  the  prevalence  of 
the  custom  in  the  past  history  of  all  the  American  tribes. 

Among  the  Lenape  legends,  warriors  named  White  Eagle, 
White  Owl  and  Snow-Bird,  Strong  Buffalo,  Big  Owl,  White 
Crane,  Strong  Wolf,  White  Lynx,  Blue-Bird,  Big  Beaver, 
Water  Turtle,  figure  in  their  early  history.3  Many  of  the 

1  4  Herrera,  138.  a  4  ib.,  334.  3  i  Rafmesque,  131-34. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP. 


231 


Northwestern  Indians  were  named  after  beasts.1  In  Chile,  as 
among  the  North  Americans,  each  family  was  distinguished  by 
the  name  of  an  animal,  among  which  were  the  tiger,  lion, 
guanaco,  and  ostrich.2 

In  Brazil  there  was  a  tribe  called  Achkeres,  who  took  their 
name  from  the  cayman,  an  animal  of  which  they  stood  in 
strange  fear.  They  thought  it  killed  with  its  breath,  and 
killed  all  with  its  sight,  and  the  only  way  it  could  be  killed  was 
by  holding  a  reflector  before  it,  when  it  killed  itself.3  The 
natives  of  Guiana  gave  animal  names  to  many  of  their  chil 
dren  :  Red  and  Blue  Macaw  were  favorites.4  Many  of  the 
Zapotecans  were  named  after  animals.5  The  cacique  of  Coa- 
tlan  was  called  Dog.6  These  names  were  sometimes  given  from 
the  personal  manitou,  and  sometimes  from  the  possession  by 
the  person  of  qualities  similar  to  those  of  the  animal.  Mr. 
Bates,  while  on  the  Amazon,  had  two  attendants  named  Tor 
toise,  who  were  descended  from  a  father  who  had  received  that 
nickname  on  account  of  his  slowness.  Here  we  see  the  first 
step  toward  the  formation  of  a  tortoise  family  and  tribe.  Let 
the  tradition  of  the  ancestor  fail  to  keep  clearly  in  view  the  fact 
that  he  was  a  man  called  after  some  animal,  let  him  be  habitu 
ally  spoken  of  just  as  when  alive,  and  the  natural  mistake  of 
taking  the  name  literally  will  bring  with  it  the  belief  in  descent 
from  the  actual  animal. 

It  is  in  this  way  that  we  can  find  an  explanation  of  the  myth 
ical  descents  of  so  many  of  the  tribes  from  animals;  and  I  will 
introduce  here  a  few  of  these  traditionary  descents.  Falkner 
describes  the  Patagonians  as  possessing  a  multiplicity  of  ani 
mal  deities,  each  of  whom  they  believe  to  preside  over  a  family 
of  Indians  of  which  he  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  creator. 
Some  are  of  the  caste  of  the  tiger,  some  of  the  guanaco,  and 
others  of  the  ostrich.  Ross  says  the  tribes  north  of  the  Colum 
bia  pretend  to  be  derived  from  a  musk-rat.  The  Haidahs  stead- 


Harmon,  347.  2  2  Molina,  378.,  3  i  Southey,  156-57. 

Brett,  290.  5  3  Herrera,  267.  6  3  ib.,  268. 


232  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

fastly  maintain  that  they  are  descended  from  the  crows,  and 
the  Ahts  say  that  men  first  existed  as  birds,  animals,  and  fishes. 
The  Chippewyans  derive  their  origin  from  the  dog,  and  at  one 
time  were  so  strongly  imbued  with  respect  for  their  canine 
ancestry  that  they  ceased  employing  dogs  in  drawing  their 
sledges.1 

The  California  Indians,  who  claim  to  have  descended  from 
the  prairie-wolf,  explain  the  loss  of  their  tails  by  saying  they 
have  been  erased  and  destroyed  by  the  habit  they  acquired  of 
sitting  upright.  Those  of  them  who  claim  descent  from  the 
bear  assert  that  bears  in  old  times  walked  on  their  hind  legs 
like  men. 

The  Kickapoos  thought  their  ancestors  had  tails,  and  when 
they  lost  them  the  impudent  fox  sent  every  morning  to  ask 
how  their  tails  were,  and  the  bear  shook  his  fat  sides  at  the 
joke.2 

The  Flat-Heads  believed  in  animal  descent,  and  peopled  their 
paradise  with  their  grandfathers  the  spiders,  who  were  exceed 
ingly  useful,  according  to  their  conception,  for  they  spun  threads 
to  let  the  dead  down  to  earth  again. 

The  Chinooks  are  descended  from  a  large  bird,  which  they 
called  Hahness.  When  one  of  their  old  men  was  cutting-  a 

o 

salmon  across  the  side,  it  was  metamorphosed  into  an  immense 
bird,  which  flew  away  and  alighted  on  the  Saddleback  Moun 
tains,  near  Columbia  River,  where  its  nest  was  made  and  eggs 
laid,  and  from  these  eggs  sprang  mankind.3 

The  Crane  tribe  of  the  Ojibways  have  the  following  legend 
of  their  origin.  Two  cranes  flew  down  to  the  earth  and  spent 
a  long  time  visiting  different  parts  of  the  continent.  They 
went  over  the  prairie,  and  tasted  buffalo-meat,  but  came  to  the 
conclusion  it  would  not  last.  They  passed  over  the  forests, 
and  tasted  the  elk,  deer,  and  other  animals,  but  were  afraid  the 
sources  would  fail.  When  they  came  to  the  rapids  at  the  out- 


I  Spencer,  Soc.,  363.  2  3  Jones,  Traditions,  176. 

3  Swan's  Washington  Territory,  203-4. 


ANIMAL-WORSHIP.  233 

let  of  Lake  Superior,  and  found  fish  in  abundance  in  the  noisy 
waters,  which  could  be  taken  with  ease,  they  were  satisfied,  and 
folded  their  wings  close  to  their  bodies,  alighted  on  the  chosen 
spot,  and  were  at  once  transformed  into  a  man  and  woman.1 

The  Delawares  thought  that  their  ancestors  lived  for  a  time 
in  certain  terrestrial  animals,  such  as  the  ground-hog,  the  rab 
bit,  the  tortoise.2  The  tortoise  gens  claimed  a  superiority  and 
ascendency  over  all  the  others,  because  their  ancestor  the  great 
tortoise,  who  had  become  a  fabled  monster  in  their  mythology, 
bore  their  world  on  his  back.3  Upon  this  subject  Mr.  Hecke- 
welder  says,  "That  the  Indians,  from  the  earliest  times,  consid 
ered  themselves  in  a  manner  connected  with  certain  animals,  is 
evident  from  various  customs  still  preserved  among  them,  and 
from  the  names  of  those  animals  which  they  have  collectively 
as  well  as  individually  assumed.  They  are  as  proud  of  their 
origin  from  the  tortoise,  the  turkey,  and  the  wolf  as  the  nobles 
of  Europe  are  of  their  descent  from  the  feudal  barons  of  ancient 
times." 

The  Ottawas  claimed  their  origin  from  three  families.  Some 
were  from  the  family  of  the  great  hare.  They  pretended  that 
the  great  hare  was  a  man  of  prodigious  size  ;  that  he  could 
spread  nets  in  the  water  at  eighteen  fathoms'  depth,  while  the 
water  scarcely  came  to  his  armpits.  The  second  family  of  the 
Ottawas  claimed  to  be  derived  from  the  carp.  Their  tradition 
was,  that  a  carp  having  deposited  its  eggs  on  the  borders  of 
a  river,  and  the  sun  having  darted  its  rays  upon  them,  they 
were  formed  into  a  woman,  from  whom  they  were  descended. 
The  third  family  of  the  Ottawas  attributed  their  origin  to 
the  bear,  but  without  explaining  in  what  manner  they  were 
derived.4 

The  lowas  thought  they  were  descended  from  animals.  The 
Mandans  had  an  Indian  name  of  great  length,  which  when 
translated  would  be  "  people  of  the  pheasants."  The  Choctaws 


1  Beach,  Mis.,  175.  2  Heckewelder,  241. 

3  i  Yates  and  Moulton's  N.  Y.,  31-32.  4  Rasles,  in  Kip's  Jes.  Mis.,  32. 


234  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

have  a  crawfish  gens,  which  believe  they  came  up  out  of  the 
mud  and  were  a  species  of  crawfish,  and  they  went  on  their 
hands  and  feet  at  first.  When  the  Choctaws  chased  them,  they 
would  run  down  through  the  mud  and  get  away  from  them. 
Finally  some  of  them  were  caught  and  treated  kindly  by  the 
Choctaws,  and  they  became  the  present  crawfish  family.1  The 
Potoyantes  believe  they  are  descended  from  the  coyotes.2 

The  natives  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mt.  Shasta  have  a  tra 
dition  that  the  grizzly  bears  formerly  walked  on  their  hind  feet 
like  men,  and  talked,  and  were  the  ancestors  of  the  Indians ; 
and  the  Indians  will  not  kill  them  ;  but  if  an  Indian  is  killed  by 
a  bear  the  spot  becomes  memorable,  and  each  one  casts  a  stone 
on  the  spot  till  a  monument  is  reared.3  The  Cayuses,  Nez 
Perces,  and  Walla  Wallas  sprang  from  the  beaver.4 

A  tribe  of  Lacandones,  near  Palenque,  was  named  the  Snakes, 
and  the  great  mythical  hero,  Votan,  declared  himself  a  snake 
and  descendant  of  the  snakes.5  Many  of  the  Indians  of  Peru 
claimed  descent  from  animals,  some  from  the  bear,  others  from 
the  tiger,  eagle,  condor,  or  other  animal.6 

Among  the  natives  of  Brazil,  belief  in  descent  from  animals 
survived  in  the  curious  custom  of  cutting  a  stick  at  a  wedding. 
The  father  performed  this  ceremony,  imagining  that  he  cut  off 
the  tails  of  any  future  grandchildren.7 

Mythologies  are  full  of  stories,  says  Mr.  Spencer,  where 
beasts,  birds,  and  fishes  have  played  intelligent  parts  in  human 
affairs,  and  have  befriended  human  beings  by  giving  them  in 
formation,  by  guiding  them,  or  by  deceiving  them.  Belief  in 
actual  descent  from  an  animal,  strange  as  we  may  think  it,  is 
one  by  no  means  incongruous  to  the  savage.8 

The  traditionary  unions  of  animals  and  human  beings  were 
common  in  the  folk-lore  of  all  the  tribes.  In  a  great  deluge, 
an  Ojibway  woman  was  saved  by  catching  hold  of  a  large  bird 


1  2  Catlin,  128.  2  3  Bancroft,  88.  3  3  ib.,  93. 

4  3  ib.,  95.  s  3  ib.,  451.  6  i  Garcilasso,  75. 

7  i  Tylor,  384.  8  Spencer,  Recent  Discoveries,  42. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  235 

that  was  flying  over.  She  was  carried  to  the  top  of  a  high 
cliff,  near  which  she  had  twins  by  her  savior  the  war-eagle.1 

The  Osages  believe  the  first  man  of  their  nation  married  a 
beaver,  by  whom  he  had  many  children,  from  whom  the  Osages 
have  descended.  They  never  kill  the  beaver,  for  they  would 
think  they  were  killing  their  own  people.2 

The  Quiches  had  a  legend  that  mankind  descended  from  a 
woman  and  a  dog  who  could  transform  himself  into  a  hand 
some  youth.  The  Apaches  have  a  tradition  that  a  bear  went 
into  the  palace  of  Montezuma  and  stole  one  of  his  daughters 
and  had  children  by  her.3 

These  myths  of  descent  from  the  union  of  an  animal  and  a 
human  being  are  very  common.  Some  of  the  composite  forms 
of  animal  and  human  beings  to  be  found  among  their  fabulous 
animals,  which  will  be  noticed  hereafter,  and  which  are  com 
mon  subjects  chosen  for  representation  by  their  artists,  are 
explicable  by  this  theory  of  descents. 

The  Aleuts  claim  descent  from  a  dog  of  the  female  sex 
which  was  visited  by  an  old  man  from  the  North.  Trie  result 
was  the  birth  of  two  creatures,  male  and  female,  each  half  man, 
half  dog.4  Many  of  those  composite  figures  which  appear  in 
the  mythology  of  savage  as  well  as  civilized  races  of  the  pagan 
world,  and  which  have  been  represented  in  their  art,  undoubt 
edly  have  their  explanation  in  the  totemic  social  system.  To 
illustrate :  if  a  member  of  a  wolf  gens  should  marry  and  have 
offspring  with  a  member  of  a  crawfish  gens,  and  the  offspring 
should  attain  celebrity  and  pass  into  their  traditionary  history 
with  his  parentage  unforgotten,  yet  growing  more  indistinct  as 
the  twilight  of  time  gathers  around  it  and  all  recollections 
merge  themselves  in  the  prominent  figure,  soon  there  would 
be  a  hero  tale,  transparent  with  the  characteristics  of  the  wolf 
and  the  crawfish.  Among  the  Indians  men  and  animals  were 
closely  akin,  and  a  belief  prevailed  that  men  themselves  owed 
their  first  parentage  to  beasts,  birds,  or  reptiles,  and  the  names 

1  2  Catlin,  168.         2  2  ib.,  319.         3  5  Schoolcraft,  211.         *  3  Bancroft,  104. 


236  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

of  the  totemic  clans,  borrowed  in  nearly  every  case  from  ani 
mals,  are  the  reflection  of  this  idea. 

Papago  traditions  reach  back  to  a  time  when  men  and  beasts 
talked  together  and  used  one  language.  In  early  times  men 
and  beasts  associated  together  in  friendly  intercourse.  A 
famous  chief  of  the  Kootanies  had  a  beautiful  daughter,  and 
all  the  young  warriors,  hunters,  and  fishers  came  courting  her, 
but  the  father  would  only  give  his  child  to  one  who  should  split 
the  tines  of  an  elk-horn  asunder  with  his  hands.  The  story  is 
told  in  the  following  language.  The  news  went  forth,  and  the 
competitors  began  to  assemble,  until  the  lodge  was  full.  The 
bears  sat  growling  in  one  corner,  and  the  wolves  in  another. 
The  raccoons  and  deer  tried  in  vain,  and  went  back  disheartened. 
The  salmon  finally  came  along,  while  the  lodge  resounded  with 
jeers  and  laughter  at  the  bare  idea  of  his  attempting  it  after 
the  flower  of  Indian  athletes  had  failed;  but  Kewuk  (salmon) 
was  the  girl's  sweetheart,  and  her  prayers  had  gone  forth  in  his 
behalf.  The  tines  split  asunder,  and  she  was  Kewuk's  bride. 
The  rivals  were  bitter  with  envy,  and  skulked  away  to  their 
lodges ;  but  the  wolf  was  determined  to  effect  by  foul  means 
what  he  could  not  accomplish  by  fair.  Watching  his  oppor 
tunity,  he  seized  her  and  fled  ;  but  she  tore  pieces  from  her 
dress  and  left  them  on  the  bushes,  marking  the  path,  along 
which  Kewuk  pursued  in  hot  haste  and  recovered  his  bride. 
The  young  wolfs  father,  however,  set  out  with  his  son  to  seize 
again  the  bride,  and  they  gaining  rapidly  on  Kewuk,  overloaded 
with  his  precious  burden,  he  jumped  into  a  river  at  hand  and 
was  turned  into  a  salmon,  and  thus  escaped.1  This  myth  shows 
evident  traces  of  totemism,  and  the  animals  therein  are  human 
beings  bearing  animal  names.  There  is  a  tradition  among  the 
Neeshenams  which  illustrates  this  subject.  It  is  the  tradition  of 
the  coyote's  elopement.  The  coyote  and  the  bat  were  one  day 
gathering  the  soft-shelled  nuts  of  the  sugar-pine,  when  there 
came  along  two  women  who  were  the  wives  of  pigeons.  The 

1  I  Brown's  Races,  138. 


ANIMAL-WORSHIP.  237 

coyote  upon  this  took  a  handful  of  pitch  and  besmeared  the 
bat's  eyes  so  that  it  could  not  see ;  meantime,  the  coyote  eloped 
with  the  two  women. 

The  supposed  descent  from  animals  has  originated  many 
superstitions  found  among  all  the  tribes  about  killing  and  eat 
ing  animals.  The  Indians  of  Queen  Charlotte's  Island  believe 
they  are  descended  from  crows,  and  never  kill  one.  They  be 
smear  themselves  with  black  paint  to  preserve  the  native  tra 
dition  of  descent.1 

Many  tribes  on  the  Pacific  slope  ate  no  flesh,  but  regarded 
everything  of  the  meat  kind  with  a  superstitious  fear.2  They 
carried  the  superstition  of  abstaining  from  flesh  about  as  far 
as  the  Brahmins.  The  Yakuts  were  divided  into  eight  tribes, 
each  of  which  had  a  bird  or  animal  which  they  regarded  as 
sacred  and  would  not  eat.3  The  Dacotahs  dared  neither  kill 
nor  eat  their  totemic  animals.  The  Navajos  never  ate  the  flesh 
of  the  gray  squirrel.4  The  Crow  Indians  would  not  trap  or 
hunt  the  bear,  and  would  not  touch  its  flesh  for  food.5  The 
Sioux  would  not  kill  the  prairie-dog.  If  they  saw  anybody  kill 
one,  they  ran  away.6  The  Apaches  had  a  superstitious  preju 
dice  against  eating  bear's  meat,7  as  had  also  the  Navajos.8  The 
Kaluschians  of  the  Northwest  coast  will  not  eat  the  whale.  It 
seems  to  be  forbidden  them.9  When,  through  necessity  or 
accident,  one  of  those  animals  from  which  they  should  abstain 
is  killed,  religious  ceremonies  are  performed  to  appease  its 
spirit. 

Manitology  and  nicknaming  have  both  tended  to  develop 
totemism.  The  totem  is  a  symbolic  device,  generally  an  ani 
mal,  which  represents  that  all  those  having  it  have  descended 
from  one  common  ancestor.  It  has  developed  into  the  heraldic 
device  of  the  family.  It  is  not  generally  the  object  of  religious 


1  Poole's  Queen  Charl.  Islands,  136.  2  I  Thatcher's  Indian  Traits,  71,  seq. 

3  Ball's  Alaska,  522.  4  4  Schoolcraft,  214. 

5  Belclen,  137.  6  Ib.,  138. 

7^i  Bartlett's  Personal  Narrative,  321.         8  2  Domenech,  402. 
9  McCulloh,  79. 
16 


238  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

worship,  because  each  member  has  chosen  his  own  manitou  on 
arriving  at  age.  The  totem  has,  however,  great  religious  sig 
nificance,  and  should  have  a  prominent  place  in  the  study  of 
their  superstitions. 

The  totemism  of  the  American  tribes  has  manifested  itself 
in  much  of  their  art.  Among  the  Haidah,  Sitka,  and  Chim- 
sean  Indians,  a  pillar  elaborately  carved  out  of  a  cedar-tree,  or 
occasionally  of  stone,  and  sometimes  fifty  feet  high,  is  built 
before  each  house,  and  represents  the  totems  or  manitous  of 
all  those  living  within  the  house.  .Since  several  families  gen 
erally  inhabit  one  of  these  houses  in  common,  the  totem  of 
each  family  is  represented,  and  hence  we  obtain  those  curious 
combinations  of  figures  that  characterize  much  of  the  architec 
ture  of  this  region.  The  same  peculiarity  is  noticed  in  other 
parts  of  America,  especially  in  the  remains  of  the  Central 
American  States,  where  the  complex  system  of  configuration 
in  the  pillars  and  also  the  walls  of  their  ruins  has  undoubtedly 
had  the  same  origin,  with  perhaps  the  additional  pictographic 
representations  that  may  be  descriptive  of  them. 

At  Fort  Tongas,  in  Alaska,  Rev.  Dr.  Jackson  mentions  the 
existence  of  a  whole  forest  of  crest-  or  totem-poles.  "  Many 
of  them  were  from  sixty  to  seventy  feet  high,  and  carved  from 
top  to  bottom  with  a  succession  of  figures  representing  the 
eagle,  wolf,  bear,  frog,  whale,  and  other  animals."  x 

The  Nootkans  also  have  a  rude  system  of  heraldry,  by  which 
some  animal  is  adopted  as  a  family  crest,  and  its  figure  painted 
on  canoes  and  paddles  or  embroidered  on  their  blankets.  The 
Thlinkeets  adorned  the  fronts  of  their  principal  dwellings  and 
their  canoes  with  figures  representing  the  heads  of  crows,  sea- 
lions,  and  bears.2  These  are  their  totems,  and  each  family 
adorned  their  house  and  canoe  with  the  bird  or  beast  designat 
ing  their  clan.  Hence  we  see  how  the  medicine-bag  or  mani 
tou,  at  first  a  personal  fetich,  expands  till  the  idea  of  a  family 
or  tribe  manitou,  or  totem,  exhibits  itself,  and  the  tribal  fetich 

1  Alaska,  263.  2  I  Bancroft,  107. 


o 


V 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP. 


239 


manifests  itself  in  primitive  decorative  art,  which  began  with 
ornamenting  household  utensils,  canoes,  and  huts  with  heraldic 
devices.  The  use  of  the  totem  in  art  prevailed  among  the 
Southern  as  well  as  the  Northern  tribes.  The  coyote,  which 
figures  so  extensively  in  the  myths  of -the  savage  tribes  west  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  appears  in  Nahua  art.  An  image  of  a 
coyote  hewn  from  the  rock  was  found  at  the  country  residence 
of  King  Nezahualcoyotl,  whose  name  signified  hungry  fox. 
Near  this  was  the  colossal  figure  of  a  winged  beast,  bearing  in 
its  mouth  a  sculptured  portrait  of  the  king.1 

The  figures  or  emblems  connected  with  the  signatures  of  the 
Indians  were  called  totems,  and  were  the  signs  of  the  gentes  or 
families  into  which  the  nations  were  divided.  They  were  not 
the  personal  emblems  of  the  chiefs.  These  figures  were  gen 
erally  some  bird,  beast,  or  reptile.  The  Indians  in  their  earliest 
intercourse  with  the  whites  resorted  to  the  use  of  hieroglyphics. 
Some  of  those  made  use  of  in  the  treaty  made  at  Falmouth 
with  the  Penobscot,  Norridgwock,  and  other  Indians  in  1649 
were  very  curious.  They  signed  with  the  figure  of  the  body 
of  the  totemic  animal ;  Nattoonos  by  the  representation  of  a 
fish,  Seboowosset  by  that  of  a  fly,  and  others  by  various  other 
strange  and  uncouth  drawings.  The  treaties  and  petitions  of 
tribes  were  a  species  of  such  hieroglyphic  representations,  as 
represented  on  Plate  IV.,  which  was  a  petition  sent  to  Congress 
by  a  Western  tribe,  which  was  divided  into  the  totemic  families 
represented  by  the  bear,  marten,  and  other  animals  therein 
figured.  Totemism  is  thus  seen  to  be  closely  connected  with 
the  pictography  and  hieroglyphic  writing  used  in  America  by 
the  natives. 

Tattooing,  or  painting  the  figures  of  animals  upon  their 
bodies,  was  an  almost  universal  custom  throughout  both 
Americas.  It  is  probably  the  most  primitive  form  of  decora 
tive  art,  and  is  fetichistic  in  conception.  The  tattooing,  of 
which  the  Indians  were  so  fond,  and  which  had  a  religious 

1  2  Bancroft,  170. 


240  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

significance  among  them,  was  gradually  given  up  as  they 
adopted  the  dress  and  customs  of  the  whites.  Yet  there  were 
many  instances  of  their  clinging  to  the  idea,  by  ornamenting 
their  dress  with  the  pictures  of  animals.  The  famous  Philip 
wore  a  belt  curiously  embroidered  with  figures  of  birds  and 
beasts,  and  the  band  of  his  cap  was  adorned  in  the  same  man 
ner.  The  Dacotahs  were  tattooed  with  animals,  which  they 
thought  charmed  away  all  evil.1 

The  tattoo-marks  of  the  Haidahs  appeared  to  be  both  totemic 
and  connected  with  their  manitology.  Occasionally  a  fabulous 
being  with  no  prototype  in  natural  history  will  be  selected,  un 
doubtedly  the  product  of  a  dream  or  of  a  very  fanciful  imagi 
nation.  Animals  are  the  subjects  tattooed  generally,  and  of 
these  the  bear,  frog,  codfish,  and  mythological  thunder-bird 
are  the  most  common. 

The  same  custom  prevailed  among  the  Canadian  tribes, 
whose  breasts,  arms,  and  legs  were  tattooed  with  sharp  needles 
or  pointed  bones,  the  colors  being  carefully  rubbed  in.  "  The 
manitou  and  the  animal  chosen  as  the  symbol  of  his  tribe  are 
first  painted  on  the  person,  then  all  his  most  remarkable  ex 
ploits  and  the  enemies  he  has  slain  or  scalped :  so  that  his 
body  displays  a  pictorial  history  of  his  life." 2  .  Among  the 
New  England  nations  "  the  better  sort  of  Indians  bear  on  their 
cheeks  certain  portraitures  of  beasts,  as  beavers,  deer,  moose, 
wolves,  eagles,  hawks,  etc."3  A  woman  of  Queen  Charlotte's 
Island  had  half  her  body  tattooed  with  fish,  beasts,  etc.,  and 
said  that  the  representation  of  a  halibut  would  protect  her  and 
her  kin  from  drowning  at  sea.4  The  first  objects  delineated 
on  the  skin  of  the  Indian  in  tattooing  were  his  guardian 
spirit  and  the  guardian  spirit  of  his  tribe.5  These  spirits  were 
then  supposed  to  be  enlisted  in  his  behalf. 

The  natives  of  Yucatan   and  Nicaragua,  who  were   naked, 


1  Eastman's  Legends  of  Sioux,  74.  2  I  Wai-burton's  Conq.  of  Can.,  200. 

3  Wood's  N.  E.  Pros.,  74.  *  Poole's  Queen  Charl.  Islands,  311. 

s  i  Hugh  Murray's  British  America,  54. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  24 1 

tattooed  the  body  with  serpents  and  birds.1     Tattooing  was  a 
profession  among  them.2 

Tattooing  was  a  form  of  animal-worship.  Mr.  Agassiz  says 
that  tattooing  was  a  religious  institution  among  the  Brazilians.3 

Among  the  Mexicans  and  other  civilized  nations,  who  were  not 
naked,  the  custom  of  tattooing  survived  in  the  banners,  flags, 
armorial  bearings,  crests,  and  other  insignia,  upon  which  appear 
animal  forms.  They  had  flags  upon  which  were  inscribed  ani 
mals.  The  armorial  ensign  of  the  Mexicans  was  an  eagle,  with 
its  wings  spread,  in  the  act  of  darting  on  a  tiger;  that  of 
Tlascala,  an  eagle  ;  that  of  Ocotcholco,  a  green  bird  on  a  rock  ; 
that  of  Tizatlan,  a  heron  on  a  rock ;  that  of  Tepeticpac,  a  wolf.4 

The  connection  of  the  animal-mounds  of  Wisconsin  with  the 
existing  totemic  system  of  the  Indians  is  too  strong  to  escape 
attention.  By  the  system  of  names  imposed  upon  the  men 
composing  the  Ojibway,  Iroquois,  Cherokee,  and  other  nations, 
a  fox,  a  bear,  a  turtle,  is  fixed  on  as  a  badge  or  stem  from 
which  the  descendants  may  trace  their  parentage.  To  do  this 
the  figure  of  the  animal  is  employed  as  an  heraldic  sign  or 
surname.  This  sign,  which  by  no  means  gives  the  individual 
name  of  the  person,  is  called  in  the  Algonkin  languages  town 
mark  or  totem.  A  tribe  could  leave  no  more  permanent  trace 
of  an  esteemed  sachem  or  honored  individual  than  by  the 
erection  of  one  of  these  monuments.  The  fox,  bear,  wolf, 
and  eagle  are  clearly  recognizable  in  the  devices  of  these 
mounds,5  and,  besides  these,  among  the  animal-mounds  of  Wis 
consin  are  lizards  and  turtles,  serpents,  elks,  elephants,  buffaloes, 
and  cranes.  We  may  therefore  suppose  that  Red  men  for 
merly  occupied  Wisconsin  whose  superstitious  ceremonies  and 
belief  required  the  erection  of  the  mounds  delineated.  Among 
the  Ottawas  there  was  a  tradition  that  a  mountain,  shaped  like 
a  beaver,  on  the  northern  shore  of  Lake  Nipissing,  contained 
buried  beneath  it  the  great  beaver.  They  never  passed  it  with- 


1  2  Bancroft,  733.  2  Ib.  3  Brazil,  318. 

4  i  Clavigero,  368-69.  s  i  School  craft,  52. 


242  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

out  offering  something.1  Animal-shaped  mounds  are  found 
elsewhere. 

There  are  huacas  in  Peru  which  represent  animals.2  In  Put 
nam  County,  Georgia,  there  is  a  bird-shaped  structure  com 
posed  of  boulders  of  quartz  rock,  none  of  them  so  large  that  an 
individual  could  not  have  carried  them.  It  represents  an  eagle 
with  its  head  turned  toward  the  east.  Another  similar  one  is 
found  in  the  same  county,  one  hundred  and  two  feet  in  length, 
and  from  tip  to  tip  of  wings  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  feet. 
Mr.  C.  C.  Jones  thinks  both  of  them  are  monuments  of  the 
dead.3  In  the  Newark,  Ohio,  works,  a  bird-mound  was  found 
with  length  of  body  one  hundred  and  fifty-five  feet  and  two 
hundred  feet  from  tip  to  tip  of  spread  wings.4 

The  general  drift  of  many  of  the  myths  of  descent  of  man 
from  animals  would  indicate  a  wide-spread  belief  in  the  theory 
of  an  evolution  of  mankind  from  animals.  The  process  of 
evolution  is  thus  described  by  an  Iroquois  myth,  which  says 
that  men  were  metamorphosed  from  little  worms,  into  which 
entered  spirits.  The  worms,  with  the  spirits  in  them,  grew, 
putting  forth  little  arms  and  legs,  and  moved  the  light  earth 
that  covered  them.5 

It  will  be  seen,  however,  that  traditions  are  not  wanting 
whose  teaching  is  precisely  the  reverse.  The  Salish,  Nisqual- 
lies,  and  Yokimas  all  hold  that  beasts  are  descended  from 
human  originals.6 

In  an  Iroquois  tradition,  a  woman  brought  forth  a  deer,  bear, 
and  wolf,  and  again  cohabited  with  these  animals.  She  thus 
became  pregnant,  and  bore  divers  sorts  of  creatures  at  one 
birth.  From  this  arose  the  variety  not  only  of  animals,  but 
also  of  men,  in  color  either  black,  white,  or  sallow,  in  disposi 
tion  either  timid  as  the  deer,  revengeful  as  bears,  or  rapacious 
as  wolves.? 


1  3  Jones,  Trad.,  69.  2  A.  Oliva,  121 ;  Arriaga,  12. 

3  Smithsonian  Report,  1877,  281-82.  •*  McLean,  Mound-Builders,  35. 

s  Miner's  History  of  Wyoming,  22.  6  3  Bancroft,  97. 

7  Montanus,  Tr.  in  Doc.  Hist.  N.  Y.,  vol.  iv.,  83. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  243 

Connected  closely  wich  the  subject  of  the  traditionary  descent 
of  Indians  from  animals,  and  the  superstitions  growing  out  of 
such  belief,  is  the  traditionary  descent  of  animals  from  the 
human  race. 

The  Indians  living  around  Lake  Pepin  thought  the  animals 
and  fish  were  once  human  and  endued  with  speech,  and  held 
counsel  together  until  they  began  to  prey  upon  each  other; 
the  otter  brought  the  discord  by  eating  a  few  fish.1  The  Daco- 
tahs  believed  that  beavers  were  once  people  and  endowed  with 
language,  but  lost  their  speech.  The  Black-Feet  Indians  also 
believed  that  the  beavers  were  a  fallen  race  of  Indians.2  The 
Moquis,  who  were  divided  into  gentes  bearing  animal  names, 
thought  that  after  death  they  would  change  back  into  their 
original  forms,  and  become  bears,  deer,  and  prairie-wolves.3 

The  belief  in  the  descent  of  animals  from  human  beings  has 
received  an  impetus  from  their  various  tales  of  metamorphosis. 
In  the  animal  kingdom  the  metamorphoses  which  actually 
occur  are  at  first  sight  more  marvellous  than  many  which  are 
only  supposed  to  occur.  The  contrasts  between  the  maggot  and 
a  fly,  an  egg  and  a  bird,  a  tadpole  and  a  frog,  are  greater  than 
the  contrasts  between  human  beings  and  many  animals,  or  be 
tween  many  different  varieties  of  animals.  The  savage  mind 
yields  therefore  unhesitatingly  to  anything  which  suggests  that 
a  creature  has  assumed  a  different  shape.  In  Brazil,  the  people 
universally  believe  that  the  humming-bird  is  transmutable  into 
the  hawk-moth.  The  belief  that  human  spirits  disguised 
themselves  temporarily  as  brutes  was  very  prevalent.  The 
Thlinkeets  of  North  America  would  kill  some  animals  only 
in  case  of  great  necessity,  for  they  supposed  human  spirits 
assumed  these  animal  forms  at  pleasure  and  frequently. 

Myths  of  descent  and  metamorphosis  are  found  in  the  folk 
lore  of  both  Americas. 

The  Potawatomies  claimed  descent  from  a  wolf.     By  meta- 


McLeod's  Wisconsin,  277.  2  Slight's  Researches,  103. 

3  Marcy's  Army  Life  on  the  Border,  109. 


244  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

morphosis  the  bones  of  a  dead  wolf  were  transformed  into  a 
woman,  the  mother  of  their  race.1 

In  Algonkin  mythology,  the  animal  creation  is  supposed  to 
have  been  metamorphoses  of  human  beings.  The  Ojibways 
think  the  white-fish  sprang  from  the  brains  of  a  woman  who 
dropped  into  the  water.2 

The  Flat-Head  Indians  (a  tribe  on  the  Columbia  River) 
entertain  a  curious  tradition  with  respect  to  beavers.  They 
firmly  believe  that  these  animals  are  a  fallen  race  of  Indians, 
who  were  metamorphosed  to  their  present  shape  and  state,  but 
that  in  due  time  they  will  be  restored  to  their  humanity.  They 
allege  that  beavers  have  the  power  of  speech,  and  that  they 
have  heard  them  talk  with  each  other.3 

The  Ojibways  remembered  the  name  of  the  member  of  the 
human  race  who  was  changed  into  a  beaver.  It  was  Amik.4 

The  Flat-Heads  have  a  tradition  that  a  warrior  of  the  early 
day  found  his  wife  unfaithful,  whereupon  she  fled  away,  was 
turned  into  the  speckled  duck,  and  dives  at  the  sight  of  a 
human  being. 

Those  tribes  that  have  progressed  and  remember  a  former 
condition  of  greater  savagery  always  describe  that  condition 
as  one  wherein  they  were  animals.  Of  course  the  language  is 
metaphorical  at  first;  but  this  metaphorical  language,  in  con 
nection  with  the  many  animal  superstitions  that  have  survived 
their  lower  state,  tends  to  make  fiction  grow  into  reality.  A 
number  of  travellers  have  acknowledged  that  they  never  clearly 
understood  whether  the  Indians  believed  that  at  one  time  all 
men  were  in  the  form  of  beasts  or  whether  they  were  in  the  form 
of  men,  but  with  the  nature,  habits,  and  disposition  of  animals. 

The  Eskimos  have  many  stories  of  metamorphoses  of  human 
beings  into  animals.5  The  dolphins  are  supposed  to  be  a  family 
of  metamorphosed  brothers.  Their  folk-lore  abounds  in  stories 


1  Haw-Hoo-Noo,  242.  2  3  Schoolcraft,  526. 

3  2  Turner's  Traits,  87.  *  3  Schoolcraft,  562. 

$  Rink's  Trad.,  145. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  245 

of  reindeer,  foxes,  and  hares  which  have  assumed  human  form 
and  then  changed  back  again  when  their  object  was  accom 
plished.1 

The  Thlinkeets  have  a  tradition  that  when  the  sun  first  shone 
on  the  earth,  human  beings  ran  into  the  mountains,  woods,  and 
waters,  and  became  animals  and  fish.2  They  think  their  shamans 
can  metamorphose  themselves  into  animals  at  pleasure.3 

Quawteaht,  an  apotheosized  man  of  the  Northwest,  metamor 
phosed  all  who  refused  him  what  he  asked.  He  converted 
a  canoe-man  into  a  beaver  for  refusing  to  ferry  him  over  a 
lake.  A  fisherman  on  the  Coquitlan  River  was  turned  into  a 
pillar  of  stone  for  refusing  him  salmon,  and  there  the  rock 
stands  to  this  day,  the  monument  of  an  inhospitable  man.  A 
woman  was  transformed  into  a  raven  for  refusing  him  berries, 
and  a  boy  was  swallowed  by  a  whale,  vomited  up  again,  and 
changed  into  a  mink,  because  he  refused  him  sea-eggs.  He 
turned  a  whole  tribe  of  Indians  into  wolves  in  a  fit  of  anger. 

Among  the  Ahts,  the  loon  and  the  crow  were  metamor 
phosed  fishermen,  who  quarrelled  and  were  thus  changed  by 
Quawteaht,  who  put  an  end  in  this  way  to  their  quarrel;  and 
the  only  complaint  is  the  mournful  voice  of  the  loon  across  the 
silent  lake,  as  the  poor  fisherman  tries  to  make  his  wrongs 
known. 

The  natives  of  Vancouver's  Island  will  not  kill  the  ogress 
squirrel,  on  account  of  the  following  tradition  of  metamor 
phosis.  There  once  lived  an  old  woman  with  finger-nails  like 
claws.  She  ate  children ;  and  many  were  the  broken  hearts 
and  empty  cradles  produced  by  her  depredations.  At  the 
prayer  of  a  red  mother,  says  the  tradition,  her  little  child  slips 
from  the  ogress's  grip,  not  a  child,  but  metamorphosed  into  the 
loveliest  little  squirrel,  bearing  those  four  dark  lines  along  its 
back  where  her  cruel  claws  made  their  mark.4  After  death, 
the  Pimos  believe  that  their  souls  go  to  the  banks  of  the  Col 
orado,  their  ancient  dwelling-place,  and  there  take  refuge  in 


Rink,  450.  2  Ball's  Alaska,  422.  3  Ib.,  423.  •*  3  Bancroft,  130. 


246  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

the  great  sand-hills,  where  they  are  metamorphosed  into  owls, 
bats,  wolves,  and  other  animals.1 

Lycanthropy  was  common  among  many  tribes  of  the  North 
west. 

"  Ah,  ye  wolves,  in  all  your  ranging 
I  have  found  you  kind  and  true, 
More  than  man,  and  now  I'm  changing, 
And  will  soon  be  one  of  you." 

Many  traditions  of  metamorphosis  of  men  into  wolves  appear 
in  the  folk-lore  of  the  Northwest.  The  Ahts  have  victims  of 
a  lycanthropy.  They  say  that  men  go  into  the  mountains  to 
seek  their  manitous  and  associate  with  wolves,  and  after  a  time 
turn  into  wolves.2  In  British  Columbia  many  a  wolf-circle 
gathered  around  a  fire  on  the  mountain-side,  with  their  skins 
hung  up  to  dry  on  sticks,  has  been  seen  by  the  imaginative 
savages  inhabiting  that  region.3  The  folk-lore  of  all  the  tribes 
is  full  of  the  traditions  of  changes  of  human  beings  into  various 
animals. 

An  ogress  in  the  folk-lore  of  the  Northwest  coast,  who  lived 
on  children  and  went  about  with  a  basket  to  gather  them  up 
and  take  them  home  to  roast,  was  circumvented  by  a  parcel  of 
youngsters,  who  pushed  her  into  the  fire  she  had  prepared  for 
them.  Her  ashes  were  turned  into  mosquitoes,  who  now  eat 
mankind.4  This  tale  probably  represents  all  that  is  left  of  can 
nibalism  among  the  tribes  whose  folk-lore  it  adorns. 

Among  the  Nisqually  folk-tales  is  one  of  a  man  and  his  wife 
who  were  metamorphosed,  the  man  into  the  heron,  which  is 
called  grandfather  by  them,  and  the  woman  into  the  horned 
grebe.5 

The  Ojibways  thought  the  robin  was  a  metamorphosed 
woman,  who  painted  her  breast  and  flew  away  laughing  for  joy 
and  telling  her  friends  she  would  be  back  in  the  spring.6 


1  2  Bartlett's  Nar.,  222.  a  Sproat,  173. 

3  i  Brown's  Races,  118.  4  i  ib.,  140. 

s  i  ib.,  150.  6  Jones's  Ojibways,  65. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  247 

Another  tradition  says  that  an  Indian  lad  who  was  fasting  for 
his  manitou  reduced  himself  to  such  a  pass  that  life  was  so 
nearly  extinct  that  the  only  sign  it  showed  was  the  gentle 
heaving  of  his  breast  His  father  came  with  food,  but,  alas  !  too 
late  ;  for  he  found,  on  looking  up,  a  beautiful  robin-redbreast, 
which  looked  at  his  father  and  said,  "  Mourn  not  my  change; 
for  I  shall  be  happier  now  and  always  the  friend  of  men.  My 
food  is  now  in  the  fields,  and  my  path  is  in  the  air ;"  and  away 
he  flew  to  the  woods.1 

The  voluntary  assumptions  of  new  forms  by  amphibious 
animals  are  frequently  found,  and  are  suggested  by  their  mys 
terious  adaptation  to  the  different  elements. 

A  mythical  female  character  among  the  Ojibways  was  a  bea 
ver  who  assumed  the  form  of  a  woman  and  married  an  Ojibway 
named  Otterheart.  They  lived  happily  together,  but  Otterheart 
did  not  know  why  his  wife  would  not  eat  the  beaver  he  brought 
to  the  lodge.  But,  alas !  the  beaver  woman  stumbled  and  fell 
into  the  water  one  day,  and  was  immediately  changed  back 
into  a  beaver.  Her  child  on  her  back  underwent  a  like  meta 
morphosis.  In  despair,  Otterheart  followed  the  course  of  the 
stream  till  he  reached  a  beaver-pond,  and  there  he  saw  his 
wife,  who  had  her  beaverling  bound  to  her  back.  Otterheart 
pleaded  with  her  to  return  to  him,  but  she  could  not.2 

The  Zunis  have  a  tradition  of  an  Indian  who  was  turned  into 
a  fish  because  he  had  desecrated  their  sacred  spring  by  bathing 
in  it.3 

Many  metamorphoses  appear  among  the  Haytian  folk-tales. 
A  number  of  fishermen  were  turned  into  plum-trees ;  a  chief 
of  the  Hiana  became  a  nightingale ;  a  messenger  of  the  king 
of  Caziba  was  turned  into  a  singing-bird.  The  change  of 
children  into  opossums  is  mentioned;  but,  as  there  are  no 
opossums  in  Hayti,  the  myth  must  have  had  its  origin  among 
the  Caribs  of  South  America.4 


1  2  Schoolcraft,  230.  2  Kohl's  Kitchi-Gami,  100-104. 

3  Cozzens,  310.  4  i  Rafinesque,  179-82. 


248  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Among  all  the  tribes,  their  wizards  and  witches  are  supposed 
to  be  able  to  turn  themselves  into  bears,  wolves,  foxes,  owls, 
bats,  and  snakes.  Such  metamorphoses  they  pretend  to  accom 
plish  by  putting  on  the  skins  of  these  animals  and  howling  in 
imitation  of  the  creature  they  represent.  They  say  they  often 
pursue  a  witch,  but  all  at  once  they  will  see  an  animal  walking 
along  as  innocently  as  a  lamb.1 

We  find  here  the  germ  of  many  metamorphoses  in  the  abo 
riginal  mythology.  That  great  body  of  impostors  among 
all  primitive  peoples,  called  sorcerers,  doctors,  medicine-men, 
witches,  etc.,  have  practised  upon  the  credulity  of  the  masses 
by  assuming  the  animal  dress  and  appearance  and  imitating 
them  in  action  and  voice.  They  were  enabled,  of  course,  to 
practise  this  imposture  successfully  only  because  the  savage 
mind  was  predisposed  to  believe  in  the  transmigration  of  souls. 
They  thought  it  no  strange  thing  for  the  spirit  of  man  or  ani 
mal  to  enter  into  anything  in  nature  it  chose  ;  that  they  always 
entered  into  the  bodies  of  the  living  when  sickness  came  upon 
them.  That  a  sorcerer  for  whom  they  had  great  superstitious 
reverence,  clad  in  the  skin  of  a  bear,  and  imitating  it  with  great 
success  and  practising  upon  the  deluded  many  tricks  of  the 
trade,  should  be  transformed  into  that  animal,  would  require  no 
great  stretch  of  the  imagination,  and  was  a  metamorphosis  in 
ideality.  That  he  should  suddenly  doff"  his  animal  skin  and 
appear  as  a  man  would  be  a  metamorphosis  in  reality. 

The  Eskimos  thought  they  could  get  inside  of  a  walrus-skin 
and  then  they  could  lead  the  life  of  a  walrus.2 

The  Iroquois  thought  their  wizards  could  turn  into  a  fox  or 
wolf  and  run  very  swiftly,  or  into  a  turkey  or  owl  and  fly  away, 
when  they  wished  to  escape  their  pursuers.3 

The  same  belief  is  found  among  the  more  civilized  tribes. 
The  Nicaraguans  thought  their  sorcerers  could  assume  animal 
forms,  and  they  were  much  feared  on  this  account.  To 


Jones's  Ojibways,  145.  2  Rink's  Traditions,  124. 

3  Schoolcraft's  Iroquois,  87. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  249 

strengthen  this  belief  they  disguised  themselves  in  the  skins  of 
beasts.1 

Mendieta  says  that  among  the  Mexicans  there  were  sorcerers 
and  witches  who  were  thought  to  transform  themselves  into 
animals.  Herrera  tells  us  that  the  people  of  Honduras  said 
that  sorcerers  ranged  on  the  mountain  like  tigers,  killing  men, 
till  they  were  taken  and  hanged.  Piedrahita  says  the  Chibchas 
pretended  to  have  great  sorcerers,  who  might  be  transformed 
into  tigers  and  bears  and  devour  men.  The  same  power  of 
metamorphosis  was  thought  to  be  possessed  by  the  sorcerers  of 
Peru,  who  could  take  upon  themselves  whatsoever  shape  they 
chose,  and  fly  through  the  air  whithersoever  they  pleased.2 
The  same  mysterious  power  was  ascribed  to  potentates  among 
the  civilized  nations.  Malivalxochitl,  a  famous  Chichemec 
princess,  is  said  to  have  had  the  power  of  transforming  herself 
into  any  shape  at  will.3  A  certain  Chibcha  ruler  was  believed 
to  have  had  a  long  tail,  which  he  dragged  on  the  soil  after  the 
manner  of  a  tiger.4  The  power  of  metamorphosing  others  was 
ascribed  to  many  kings.  The  whole  line  of  Tunja  kings  had 
the  power  of  changing  men  into  animals,  and  their  sorcerers 
transformed  themselves  into  bears  and  tigers.5  Xolotl,  the 
Chichemec  culture-hero,  changed  himself  into  a  fish  in  order  to 
escape  death,  but  was  at  last  killed  by  the  god  of  the  air.6 
The  wife  of  Yappan,  a  famous  Mexican  anchorite,  was  meta 
morphosed  into  a  scorpion  by  Jaotl,  a  messenger  of  the  gods, 
who  was  himself  metamorphosed  into  a  locust  for  exceeding 
the  bounds  of  his  commission.7 

As  the  subject  of  animal  dress  is  closely  connected  with  that 
of  metamorphosis,  and  as  the  custom  of  arraying  themselves  in 
the  skins  of  animals  has  survived  from  the  primitive  custom  of 
dressing  themselves  in  the  skins  of  beasts,  and  appears  in  most 
of  the  religious  exercises  of  the  tribes  in  all  stages  of  progress, 

1  3  Bancroft,  496.  2  4  Herrera,  353. 

3  4  Bancroft,  327.  *  I  Spencer,  Soc.,  348-50. 

s  P.  Simon,  245.  6  4  Schoolcraft,  561. 

7  I  Clavigero,  260. 


250  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

I  will  give  a  few  of  these  customs.  At  many  of  their  re 
ligious  ceremonies  the  Peruvian  tribes  arrayed  themselves  in 
the  skins  of  various  animals.  At  the  Capac  Raymi  festival 
they  put  on  the  skins  of  animals,  arranging  the  head  and  neck 
so  as  to  cover  their  own.1  Falcons  were  worn  on  the  heads  of 
the  dancers  and  singers  in  nearly  all  their  festivals.2  The  Chu- 
gatshes  make  a  conical  hat  of  wood,  in  representation  of  the 
head  of  some  fish  or  bird.3  The  Thlinkeets  wear  wooden  masks 
a  great  deal,  ingeniously  carved  and  painted  in  colors  to  repre 
sent  the  head  of  some  bird  or  beast.  They  were  always  worn 
in  battle  formerly,  but  now  their  use  is  generally  confined  to 
festive  occasions.  In  rainy  weather  they  wear  a  hat  ornamented 
with  painted  figures  and  pictures  of  animals.4  The  Lacandones, 
when  going  to  war,  wore  on  their  shoulders  the  skin  of  a  tiger 
or  some  other  fierce  animal.  In  Chiapas,  the  natives  wore 
deer-skins,  and  also  the  Mijes.5  The  Mosquitos  wore  armor 
of  tigers'  skins  in  war.6  The  natives  of  Honduras  disguised 
themselves  with  the  skins  of  animals,  whose  actions  and  cries 
they  imitated.7 

Herrera  says  the  Mexicans  clothed  themselves  in  skins  of 
tigers,  lions,  and  other  fierce  creatures.8  The  Mexican  warriors 
usually  encased  their  heads  with  a  wooden  covering,  fashioned 
in  the  shape  of  tigers'  or  serpents'  heads,  with  the  mouth  open 
and  large  teeth  to  inspire  terror,  and  very  animated  in  appear 
ance.9  The  eagle  tribe  among  the  Aztecs  wore  a  helmet  in 
the  form  of  an  eagle's  head,  and  the  tigers  wore  armor  spotted 
like  the  skin  of  the  animal  whose  name  they  bore.10  Many  of 
the  warriors  had  monsters  and  other  heraldic  devices  painted 
on  their  backs,11  and  upon  their  heads  the  representation  of 
some  animal,  bird,  or  serpent.12  They  wore  arm  and  leg  guards 
made  to  represent  the  head  of  a  tiger,  serpent,  or  monster.13 


1  Molina,  Nar.,  p.  45.  2  Avija,  Nar.,  131.  3  i  Bancroft,  74. 

4  i  ib.,  101.  s  i  ib.,  648.  6  i  il>.,  723. 

7  i  ib.,  736.  8  3  Herrera,  225.  9  I  Clavigero,  366. 

10  2  Bancroft,  403.  "  2  ib.,  405.  "  2  ib.,  406. 

'3  2  ib.,  407. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  2 5 1 

0 

In  many  of  their  animal-dances,  all  the  tribes  are  accus 
tomed  to  clothe  themselves  in  animal  dress  and  assume  animal 
characters. 

The  Sioux  have  a  bear-dance  previous  to  starting  on  a  bear- 
hunt,  in  which  they  sing  to  the  bear-spirit.1  This  dance  has 
religious  significance,  and  may  properly  be  termed  a  worship. 
They  are  clothed  in  bear-skins,  or  at  least  some  portion  of 
one,  and  imitate  closely  the  movements  of  that  animal.  They 
never  neglect  this  ceremony,  for  if  they  did  they  would  have  no 
success. 

The  eagle-dance  among  the  Choctaws  is  a  very  pretty  scene 
gotten  up  in  honor  of  that  bird,  for  which  they  have  religious 
regard.  They  are  decorated  with  eagles'  feathers,  and  the 
dance  is  different  from  any  other,  consisting  in  hops  and  jumps, 
in  imitation  of  that  bird.2 

"  The  Tonkawas,"  says  Marcy,  "  like  all  the  aborigines  of 
this  continent,  likewise  had  their  national  dances  for  different 
important  occasions,  and  among  these  ceremonies  was  one 
which  seemed  very  curious  and  entirely  different  from  any 
other  I  had  heard  of  It  was  called  the  wolf-dance,  and  was 
intended  to  commemorate  the  history  of  their  origin  and  crea 
tion.  Their  traditions  have  handed  down  to  them  the  idea 
that  the  original  progenitor  of  the  Tonkawas  was  brought  into 
this  world  through  the  agency  of  the  wolves.  The  dance  is 
always  conducted  with  the  utmost  solemnity  and  secrecy.  .  .  . 
About  fifty  warriors,  all  dressed  in  wolf-skins  from  head  to  foot, 
so  as  to  represent  the  animal  very  perfectly,  made  their  entrance 
upon  all-fours  in  single  file,  and  passed  around  the  lodge,  howl 
ing,  growling,  and  making  other  demonstrations  peculiar  to 
that  carnivorous  quadruped.  After  this  had  continued  for 
some  time,  they  began  to  put  down  their  noses  and  sniff  the 
earth  in  every  direction,  until  at  length  one  of  them  suddenly 
stopped,  uttered  a  shrill  cry,  and  commenced  scratching  the 
ground  at  a  particular  spot.  The  others  immediately  gathered 

1  I  Cntlin,  245.  2  2  ib.,  127. 


252  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

around,  and  all  set  to  work  scratching  up  the  earth  with  their 
hands,  imitating  the  motions  of  the  wolf  in  so  doing,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  .  .  .  they  exhumed  from  the  spot  a  genuine  live 
Tonkawa,  who  had  previously  been  interred  for  the  perform 
ance.  As  soon  as  they  had  unearthed  this  strange  biped,  they 
ran  around  scenting  his  person  and  examining  him  throughout 
with  the  greatest  apparent  delight  and  curiosity.  The  advent 
of  this  curious  and  novel  creature  was  an  occasion  of  no  ordi 
nary  moment  to  them,  and  a  council  of  venerable  and  sage  old 
wolves  was  at  once  assembled  to  determine  what  disposition 
should  be  made  of  him.  The  Tonkawa  addressed  them  as  fol 
lows  :  '  You  have  taken  me  from  the  spirit-land,  where  I  was 
contented  and  happy,  and  brought  me  into  this  world,  where  I 
am  a  stranger,  and  I  know  not  what  I  shall  do  for  subsistence 
and  clothing.  It  is  better  you  should  place  me  back  where 
you  found  me,  otherwise  I  shall  freeze  or  starve.'  After  mature 
deliberation,  the  council  declined  returning  him  to  the  earth, 
and  advised  him  to  gain  a  livelihood  as  the  wolves  did ;  to  go 
out  into  the  wilderness  and  rob,  kill,  and  steal  whenever  oppor 
tunity  presented.  They  then  placed  a  bow  and  arrows  in  his 
hands,  and  told  him  with  these  he  must  furnish  himself  with 
food  and  clothing;  that  he  could  wander  about  from  place  to 
place  like  the  wolves,  but  that  he  must  never  build  a  house  or 
cultivate  the  soil ;  that  if  he  did  he  would  surely  die."  x 

"  The  Nootkans  have,"  says  Cook,  "  a  truly  savage  and  in 
congruous  appearance  when  they  assume  what  they  call  their 
monstrous  decorations.  These  consist  of  an  endless  variety  of 
carved  wooden  masks  or  visors  applied  on  the  face  or  to  the 
upper  part  of  the  head  or  forehead.  Some  of  these  resemble 
the  heads  of  birds,  particularly  of  eagles,  and  many  the  heads 
of  land  and  sea  animals,  such  as  wolves,  deers,  porpoises,  and 
others ;  but  in  general  these  representations  much  exceed  the 
natural  size."  2 

Boiler  describes  the  religious  dances  of  Western  tribes,  in 


1  Marcy's  Army  Life  on  the  Border,  174,  seq.  2  6  Cook's  Voyages,  281. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  2  5  3 

which  they  appear  as  bulls,  antelopes,  and  frogs,  and  appearing 
with  as  much  resemblance  to  those  animals  as  possible.1 

Processions  of  masked  men  among  the  Brazilian  tribes  are 
described  by  Denis,  in  which  they  assumed  as  a  head-dress  the 
head  of  some  animal.  They  also  wore  the  entire  skins  of 
animals. 

In  addition  to  the  custom  of  arraying  themselves  in  animal 
skins  and  imitating  the  animals,  I  would  attribute  as  another 
cause  for  the  origin  of  myths  of  metamorphosis  the  superstition 
that  by  eating  an  animal  the  partaker  was  endued  with  the 
qualities  of  the  animal  eaten.  A  few  myths  are  found  to  sub 
stantiate  this  theory.  I  will  notice  only  one  of  them,  that  of 
the  priests  of  Xaratanga,  who  in  a  drunken  frenzy  ate  a  ser 
pent  that  was  brought  them  in  the  place  of  fish,  and  were 
immediately  turned  into  serpents  and  plunged  into  a  lake  and 
disappeared.2 

Fear  of  the  avenging  spirits  of  animals  has  instigated  much 
of  their  worship.  They  think  the  souls  of  animals  are  ready 
in  the  next  world  to  take  revenge  upon  those  who  have  killed 
them,  and  must  be  appeased.  The  Dacotah  hunter  will  pay 
religious  devotions  to  the  spirit  of  the  beast  whose  body  lies 
dead  at  his  feet,  and  on  which  he  and  his  family  will  feast  that 
night.3  Among  all  the  Algonkin  tribes,  when  a  bear  was 
killed,  the  hunter  put  the  end  of  his  lighted  pipe  between  his 
teeth,  blew  into  the  bowl,  and,  thus  filling  the  mouth  and  throat 
of  the  beast  with  smoke,  conjured  its  spirit  to  bear  him  no 
malice  for  what  he  had  done  to  the  body,  and  not  to  oppose 
him  in  his  future  huntings.  A  remarkable  illustration  of  this 
appears  in  the  following  account  by  Henry.  He  says,  "A 
bear  having  been  shot,  all  my  assistants  approached,  and  all 
took  his  head  into  their  hands,  stroking  and  kissing  it  several 
times,  begging  a  thousand  pardons  for  taking  away  its  life,  call 
ing  it  their  relation  and  grandmother.  As  soon  as  we  reached 
the  lodge,  the  bear's  head  was  adorned  with  all  the  trinkets  in 

1  Boiler's  Eight  Years,  102-8.  2  5  Bancroft,  517.          3  Riggs,  59. 

17 


254  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

the  possession  of  the  family,  such  as  silver  arm-bands  and 
wrist-bands  and  belts  of  wampum,  and  then  laid  upon  a  scaffold 
set  up  for  its  reception  within  the  lodge.  Near  the  nose  was 
placed  a  large  quantity  of  tobacco.  The  next  morning  no 
sooner  appeared  than  preparations  were  made  for  a  feast  to  the 
manes.  The  lodge  was  cleaned  and  swept,  and  the  head  of  the 
bear  lifted  up,  and  a  new  blanket,  which  had  never  been  used 
before,  spread  under  it.  The  pipes  were  now  lit,  and  tobacco- 
smoke  was  blown  into  the  nostrils  of  the  bear,  telling  me  to  do 
the  same,  and  thus  appease  the  anger  of  the  bear  on  account 
of  having  killed  her."  An  address  to  the  bear  and  a  feast 
closed  the  ceremony. 

The  Southern  Californians  have  a  curious  illustration  of  this 
superstitious  fear  of  the  spirits  of  animals,  which  compels  them 
to  hunt  in  pairs.  Many  believe  that  if  a  hunter  should  eat 
meat  or  fish  he  himself  procured,  his  luck  would  leave  him,  and 
so  they  go  in  pairs  and  exchange  their  game  when  the  day  is 
over,  each  taking  what  the  other  has  killed.1  They  think 
they  will  escape  the  vengeance  of  the  slaughtered  animals  by 
this  bit  of  trickery.  At  the  annual  fishing-season  the  mikon, 
a  small  silvery  fish  which  fills  the  Nasse  River  in  March,  is 
propitiated  by  annual  ceremonies.  After  these  religious  cere 
monies  to  the  fish,  the  slaughter  begins  without  further  scruple.2 

An  imaginary  transmigration  of  a  human  soul  into  an  animal 
renders  it  an  object  of  worship.  The  souls  of  wicked  men  were 
supposed  by  the  Brazilians  to  have  entered  those  birds  that 
inhabited  the  cavern  of  Guacharo  and  made  a  mournful  cry,3 
and  these  birds  were  religiously  feared.  The  coast  tribes  of  the 
Del  Norte  country  think  the  tarantula  contains  a  malicious 
human  spirit.  The  Moquis,  who  were  divided  into  the  deer, 
the  bear,  the  hare,  the  prairie-wolf,  and  the  rattlesnake  gens,  be 
lieved  that  their  families  descended  from  these  animals,  and 
that  after  death  they  transmigrated  into  the  form  of  that  animal 


Bancroft,  417-18.  2  i  ib.,  485. 

3  2  De  Pons,  Travels,  254-55. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  25  5 

from  which  they  originally  sprang.1  Hence  they  worshipped 
these  animals.  The  Ahts  believed  that  the  birds  and  beasts  of 
old  had  the  spirits  of  the  Indians  dwelling  in  them,2  and,  hence, 
were  worthy  of  reverence.  The  Indians  dwelling  about  the 
Falls  of  St.  Anthony  supposed  the  spirits  of  their  dead  warriors 
inhabited  the  eagles  which  frequented  the  place,3  and  these 
eagles  were  objects  of  their  worship.  The  most  beautiful 
woman  of  the  Knistenaux,  named  "  Foot  of  the  Fawn,"  died  in 
childbirth,  and  the  babe  with  her.  Soon  thereafter  two  doves 
appeared,  one  full-grown  and  one  a  little  one.  They  were  the 
spirits  of  the  mother  and  child.  The  Indians  would  gather 
about  the  tree  on  which  they  were  perched,  with  reverential 
love,  and  worship  them  as  the  spirit  of  the  woman  and  child.4 
The  Tapuyas  thought  evil  spirits  appeared  in  the  shape  of  flies, 
toads,  cats,  and  they  worshipped  the  most  inferior  animals  on 
account  of  this  supposed  transmigration.5  Thus  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  supposed  transmigration  of  souls  is  the  reason  for 
animal-worship  in  many  cases.  If  this  belief  has  originated 
animal-worship,  it  explains  the  worship  of  every  variety  of  the 
animal  life. 

It  has  been  thought  by  most  mythologists  that  only  those 
animals  that  have  been  useful  to  mankind  have  been  objects  of 
worship.  We  find,  however,  in  America  that  no  animal  is  too 
insignificant  to  escape  the  superstitious  fear  of  savages.  Among 
some  of  the  Western  tribes  a  little  bird  called  the  road-runner 
is  an  object  of  reverence.6 

The  Virginia  Indians  had  great  reverence  for  a  small  bird 
called  Pawcorance,  that  flies  in  the  woods  and  in  its  note  con 
tinually  sounds  that  name.  This  bird  flies  alone,  and  is  heard 
only  in  twilight.  They  say,  says  Beverly,  that  "  this  is  the 
soul  of  one  of  their  princes,  and  on  that  score  they  would  not 
hurt  it  for  the  world;  but  there  was  once  a  profane  Indian  in 


1  Cozzens's  Marvellous  Country,  465.  2  Sproat,  210. 

3  3  Jones's  Traditions,  117.  43  ib.,  370-71. 

s  Vasconcelles,  72.  6  Dodge's  Plains,  279. 


256  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

the  upper  parts  of  James  River  who,  after  abundance  of  fears 
and  scruples,  was  at  last  bribed  to  kill  one  of  them  with  his 
gun,  but  the  Indians  say  he  paid  dear  for  his  presumption,  for 
in  a  few  days  after  he  was  taken  away  and  never  heard  of 
again."  J  Among  the  Peruvians  the  little  bird  alma  perdida  is 
an  object  of  superstitious  reverence.2 

The  hare  was  an  object  of  superstitious  reverence  among  the 
Indians  of  the  North,  and  around  it  cluster  many  myths  in  the 
Old  World.  The  superstition  about  the  evil  omen  of  a  hare 
crossing  your  path,  for  instance,  is  very  ancient.  The  ancient 
inhabitants  of  Ireland  killed  all  the  hares  they  found  among 
their  cattle  on  May-day,  believing  them  witches  who  had  de 
signs  on  the  butter.  A  Calmuck  regards  the  rabbits  in  the 
same  light,  and  many  primitive  people  use  them  for  divinations 
and  refuse  to  eat  their  flesh.  Caesar  gives  account  of  the  horror 
in  which  this  animal  was  held  by  the  Britons  of  his  day.  The 
animal  was  sculptured  on  the  sacrificial  stone  in  ancient  Mexico, 
and  was  the  "  sign"  of  the  divine  years  in  the  Mexican  calendar, 
while  the  celebrations  and  sacrifices  in  its  honor  were  the  most 
numerous  of  all.  Superstitions,  therefore,  seem  to  have  been 
attached  to  this  little  beast  from  the  lowest  state  of  primitive 
savagery  up  to  the  present  height  of  civilization.  Wabasso, 
who  fled  to  the  north  as  soon  as  he  saw  the  light,  and  was 
changed  into  a  white  rabbit,  under  that  form  became  canonized. 

The  Indians  on  the  Orinoco  rendered  honors  of  divinity  to 
toads  in  order  to  obtain  rain.  The  animals  were  beaten  if  the 
prayers  were  not  answered.3  Among  the  Araucanians  of  Chile 
the  land  toad  was  called  lord  of  the  waters.  The  Creeks  and 
Cherokees  had  a  great  annual  festival,  the  prominent  feature  of 
which  was  the  tadpole  dance.  A  small  tribe  in  Guiana  were 
named  Maopityans,  or  Frog  Indians,  from  mao,  frog,  and  pity  an, 
people.  Their  illustrious  ancestor,  the  frog,  was  worshipped. 
Among  the  Chibchas  the  frog  had  its  place  in  their  heaven. 


Beverly's  Virginia,  184.  a  Markham's  Cuzco,  267. 

3  i  De  Pons,  198. 


ANIMAL-WORSHIP,  257 

The  Chibchas  had  an  annual  ceremony  connected  with  their 
calendar,  in  which  the  toad  had  a  prominent  place.  It  held  a 
prominent  place  among  their  divinities.  When  springing,  it 
represents  the  sign  Ata  ;  when  engraved  with  a  tail,  it  repre 
sents  12,  because  it  has  left  the  rest  of  the  months  behind. 
On  some  stones  the  toad  is  seen  without  feet,  and  probably 
represents  the  sign  Gurta.  The  toad  is  used  often  in  composite 
figures,  such  as  a  man  with  the  head  of  a  toad,  a  tailed  toad, 
and  the  body  of  a  toad  with  a  tunic.1 

The  frog  also  held  a  place  among  the  divinities  of  the  Tol- 
tecs.  Frog-shaped  idols  were  found  at  Tulla,  the  ancient 
capital  of  the  Toltecs.  These  croaking  annoyers  of  some 
marshy  neighborhood  were  undoubtedly  raised  to  the  dignity 
of  divinities,  and  propitiated  by  the  offer  of  an  occasional  sacri 
fice.  And  so,  perhaps,  was  the  grasshopper,  images  of  which, 
cut  out  of  red  marble  and  beautifully  polished,  were  found.  It 
was  said  to  be  the  god  of  Chapultepec.2 

The  Peruvians  near  the  sea-coast  worshipped  sardines ;  also 
the  golden  fish,  on  account  of  its  beauty,  and  crabs  and  craw 
fish  where  they  were  abundant.3  Every  small  insect  was  an 
object  of  superstitious  fear. 

The  Omahaws  worshipped  a  sacred  shell  which  was  en 
veloped  in  the  skin  of  an  elk.  This  shell,  which  descended 
from  their  ancestors,  was  not  suffered  to  touch  the  earth.  It 
had  a  temple  and  a  person  to  take  care  of  it.  Those  who 
should  happen  to  see  the  shell  became  totally  blind.  They 
offered  sacrifices  to  it  and  consulted  it  before  making  expe 
ditions.  It  was  carried  on  a  man's  back  to  national  hunts.4 
Their  ascription  of  human  spirits  to  shells  has  found  expres 
sion  in  that  mythical  character  Aisemid,  the  little  shell  man  of 
Indian  lodge-lore,  who  carried  on  his  back  a  curious  little  shell 
that  had  magic  powers.  The  sorcerers  often  ascribed  their 
powers  to  sea-shells,  and  no  small  part  of  their  paraphernalia 


1  Bollaert,  47-49.  2  Mayer's  Mexico  As  It  Was,  275-76. 

3  i  Garcilasso's  Com.,  49,  50.  •*  2  Long's  Exp.,  47,  48. 


258  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

was  found  in  conchology.1  Sea-shells  were  found  in  many  of 
the  graves,  and  were  undoubtedly  objects  of  a  superstitious  wor 
ship.2  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  even  shells  shared  the  super 
stitious  reverence  entertained  for  animals,  and  that  the  most 
worthless  and  diminutive  animals  have  been  objects  of  super 
stitious  worship. 

Among  all  the  tribes,  animals  of  an  unusual  size  were  sup 
posed  to  be  inhabited  by  powerful  spirits,  and  were  objects  of 
worship.3 

Beltrami  gives  the  following  instance  of  such  worship.  He 
says,  "  The  Tortoise  Lake,"  so  called  by  the  Indians,  "  took  its 
name  from  a  tortoise  of  extraordinary  size  which  the  Indians 
found  there  about  a  century  ago.  They  fed  it  with  everything 
they  could  offer  it  most  delicious,  and  long  worshipped  it  as  a 
great  manitou."  4 

Buffaloes  were  objects  of  worship  among  those  inhabiting  the 
buffalo  country.  Among  the  savages  of  the  West  every  one 
had  one  or  more  buffalo  heads,  which  they  worshipped.5  A 
buffalo's  head  on  a  mound  of  earth  was  a  place  where  incanta 
tions  took  place.6  Their  lodges  had  an  elevation  on  which 
were  placed  buffalo  heads.7  Says  Bradbury,  "  On  some  bluffs 
in  the  Mandan  country  I  observed  fourteen  buffalo  skulls 
placed  in  a  row.  The  cavities  of  the  eyes  and  the  nostrils 
were  rilled  with  a  species  of  artemisia  common  on  the  prairies. 
On  my  return  I  caused  our  interpreter  to  inquire  into  the 
reason  for  this,  and  found  that  it  was  an  honor  conferred  on 
the  buffaloes  which  they  had  killed,  in  order  to  appease  their 
spirits  and  prevent  them  from  apprising  the  living  buffaloes  of 
the  danger  they  ran  in  approaching  the  neighborhood."  !  The 
Indians  of  South  Carolina  worshipped  the  panther,  and  called 
it  the  cat  of  God,  and  selected  it  as  one  of  their  great  religious 
emblems.  Their  male  children  were  made  to  sleep  upon  its 

1  4  Schoolcraft,  490.  a  Bollaert,  179. 

3  Harmon's  Journal,  364;  Lewis  and  Clarke,  107.  *  2  Beltrami,  417. 

5  Brackenridge's  Views,  71.  6  Ib.,  244. 

7  Ib.,  248.  8  Bradbury's  Travels,  125. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  2  5  9 

skin  from  infancy  to  manhood,  that  they  might  imbibe  from  it 
some  portion  of  the  cunning,  strength,  and  prodigious  spring 
of  the  animal  to  which  it  belonged.  For  the  same  superstitious 
reason  their  female  offspring  were  reared  on  the  soft  skins  of 
fawns  and  buffalo  calves,  that  they  might  become  gentle  and 
obedient.1 

The  Moxos  of  Brazil  worshipped  the  jaguar.  It  was  neces 
sary  for  their  priests  to  have  been  attacked  and  wounded  by  a 
jaguar  before  they  could  be  initiated  to  their  office.  When 
scratched  or  wounded  by  this  animal,  they  were  supposed  to 
have  its  mark  set  upon  them,  and  were  thus  designated  for  its 
service.  It  was  not  even  necessary  for  the  aspirant  to  have  a 
witness  to  the  assault.2 

The  Brazilians  believed  that  a  garment  made  of  the  skin  of  a 
jaguar  was  impenetrable  and  that  they  could  not  be  hurt  when 
clothed  with  one.3 

This  was  a  fetichistic  superstition,  as  the  skin  could  be  easily 
penetrated  by  their  weapons. 

The  Peruvians  worshipped  all  the  animals  they  were  ac 
quainted  with.  In  the  great  temple  of  Pachacamac  they  held  a 
fox  in  great  veneration  and  worshipped  it.4  The  Indians  before 
the  Incas  would  not  fly  if  the  fierce  animals  they  worshipped 
crossed  their  path,  but  went  down  on  the  ground  and  wor 
shipped  them,  and  even  allowed  themselves  to  be  killed  and 
eaten.5 

The  early  Peruvians  fought  many  battles  to  maintain  the 
privilege  of  worshipping  their  animal  deities,  and  only  adopted 
the  worship  of  the  sun  after  conquest. 

The  Mexicans  had  chapels  to  the  tiger,  eagle,  and  serpent, 
and  a  tomb  to  the  bones  of  a  wolf,  which  were  discovered 
therein  deposited  in  a  coffin.  The  Mexicans  worshipped  the 
horse  of  Cortez  and  made  an  image  of  it,  and  this  god  was 
named  Tziminchak. 


1  i  Logan's  Hist,  of  Upper  South  Carolina,  54.  2  3  Southey,  202. 

3  3  ib.,  669.  4  Cieza,  183.  5  i  Garcilasso,  47. 


260  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

The  builders  of  Copan  worshipped  monkeys.  Fragments 
of  colossal  apes  were  found  upon  monuments.1 

White  animals  were  special  objects  of  superstitious  fear. 
The  Lipans  revered  with  superstitious  fear  a  white  wild  stallion 
on  a  prairie  of  Texas.  The  Peruvians  regarded  white  sheep  as 
sacred  animals  and  objects  to  be  worshipped.  Judge  Hender 
son,  in  his  article  before  the  Anthropological  section  of  the 
American  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Science,  says, 
"  Among  the  Apaches  of  the  West  white  birds  were  regarded 
as  possessing  souls  of  divine  origin,  and  to  the  Indians  of  the 
plains  the  white  buffalo  is  a  sacred  object,  like  the  white  ele 
phant  of  Siam  ;  while  some  of  the  California  tribes  consider  a 
white  wolf-skin  a  badge  of  chieftainship.  This  was  carried  to 
a  great  extent  in  the  robes  of  the  high-priests  of  the  Cherokees, 
and  they  also  wrapped  their  dead  in  pure  white  deer-skins." 
The  Dacotahs  believed  that  the  white  buffalo,  not  often  seen, 
possessed  a  supernatural  power.  They  cut  off  its  head  and 
placed  it  in  their  lodge,  making  of  it  a  household  deity.2 

"  Long  before  whites  set  foot  in  the  Housatonic  Valley,  the 
Indians  used  to  notice  a  deer  of  spotless  white  which  came  to 
Onota  to  drink.  Against  this  gentle  creature  no  red  man's 
arrow  was  ever  pointed,  for  in  their  simple  faith  they  believed 
she  brought  good  fortune  to  the  dwellers  in  the  valley.  So 
long  as  the  snow-white  doe  came  to  drink  at  Onota,  so  long 
famine  should  not  blight  the  Indian's  harvest,  nor  pestilence 
come  nigh  his  lodge,  nor  foe  lay  waste  his  country.  He  who 
had  dared  harm  her  would  have  met  swift  punishment.  Year 
after  year,  soon  as  the  white  blossoms  clothed  the  cherry,  the 
sacred  deer  came  to  drink  at  her  chosen  fountain,  bringing 
good  omens  to  all,  especially  the  maiden  who  first  spied  her. 
Finally,  she  brought  with  her  a  fawn  of  more  faultless  purity  and 
grace  than  herself,  and  that  year  more  than  the  usual  plenty  and 
happiness  reigned  around  the  lake.  After  the  coming  of  the 
whites,  a  desire  seized  a  Frenchman  to  present  the  skin  of  the 

1  i  Stephens's  Central  America,  136.  a  Eastman's  Chicora,  67. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  26 1 

white  deer  to  the  French  king1,  and,  after  many  fruitless  en 
deavors  to  procure  it  through  the  Indians,  it  was  at  last 
obtained  by  a  large  price  offered  to  one  while  under  the  influence 
of  fire-water,  who,  when  discovered,  suffered  speedy  punish 
ment.  Many  were  the  efforts  to  avert  punishment,  but  pros 
perity  departed,  and  the  Indians  slowly  wasted  away."  x 

Beyond  all  others  two  subdivisions  of  the  animal  kingdom 
have  riveted  the  attention  of  men  by  their  unusual  powers,  and 
entered  into  their  mythology.  These  are  the  bird  and  the  ser 
pent.  "The  bird  has  the  incomprehensible  power  of  flight.  It 
floats  in  the  atmosphere,  rides  on  the  winds.  It  flies  proudly 
over  the  mountains  and  moors,  where  he  toils  wearily  along. 
He  sees  no  more  enviable  creature.  All  living  beings,  say  the 
Eskimos,  have  faculty  of  soul,  but  especially  the  birds.  The 
flight  and  note  of  birds  have  ever  been  anxiously  observed  as 
omens  of  grave  import.  In  Peru  and  Mexico  there  was  a  college 
of  augurs,  who  practised  divination  by  watching  the  course  and 
professing  to  interpret  the  songs  of  fowls."  2  The  eagle  was 
everywhere  worshipped.  Among  the  Araucanians  the  namcu, 
or  sea-eagle,  was  the  object  of  much  of  their  worship.3 

Mr.  Cass  says  of  the  natives  of  Michigan,  "the  calumet  eagle 
is  held  in  great  veneration  by  the  Indians,  and  a  horse  is  some 
times  given  for  a  feather."  4 

The  eagle  was  considered  by  many  tribes  as  their  sacred 
bird.  Its  images  carved  in  wood,  or  its  stuffed  skin,  surmounted 
their  council  lodges.  None  but  an  approved  warrior  dare  wear 
it  among  the  Cherokees ;  and  the  Dacotahs  allowed  such  an 
honor  only  to  him  who  had  first  touched  the  corpse  of  the 
common  foe.  The  Natches  and  Arkansas  seem  to  have  paid 
it  religious  honors  and  installed  it  in  their  most  sacred  shrines. 
The  Californians  worshipped  one  with  great  ceremony  yearly.5 

The  Delawares  believed  that  a  guardian  spirit  in  the  form  of 


1  Taghconick,  113-16.  2  Brinton's  Myths,  105-6. 

3  2  Wood's  Uncivilized  Races,  564.  4  Cass,  Indians,  69. 

s  Brinton,  1 10. 


262  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

a  great  eagle  watched  over  them,  hovering  in  the  sky  far  out 
of  sight.  Sometimes,  when  well  pleased  with  them,  he  would 
wheel  down  into  the  lower  regions,  and  might  be  seen  circling 
with  wide-spread  wings  against  the  white  clouds.  At  such 
times  the  seasons  were  propitious,  the  corn  grew  finely,  and  they 
had  great  success  in  hunting.  Sometimes,  however,  he  was 
angry,  and  then  he  vented  his  rage  in  the  thunder,  which  was 
his  voice,  and  the  lightning,  which  was  the  flashing  of  his  eye. 
The  Delawares  made  sacrifices  to  this  spirit,  who  occasionally 
dropped  a  feather  from  his  wing  in  token  of  satisfaction.  These 
feathers  made  the  wearer  invisible  and  invulnerable.  The  In 
dians  generally  considered  the  feathers  of  the  eagle  as  possessed 
of  occult  and  sovereign  virtues.  At  one  time  a  party  of  Dela 
wares  were  driven  by  the  Pawnees  to  the  summit  of  a  high  hill 
in  their  hunting-grounds.  Here  the  chief  warrior,  driven  almost 
to  despair,  sacrificed  his  horse  to  the  tutelar  spirit.  Suddenly 
an  eagle,  rushing  down  from  the  sky,  bore  off  the  victim  in  his 
talons,  and,  mounting  into  the  air,  dropped  a  feather  from  his 
wing.  The  chief  caught  it  up  with  joy,  and,  leading  his  followers 
down  the  hill,  cut  through  the  enemy  without  any  one  of  his 
party  receiving  a  wound.1 

Owls  were  often  worshipped.  The  Lummi,  inhabiting  the 
mainland  opposite  Vancouver's  Island,  will  never  kill  an  owl.2 
The  owl  among  the  Aztecs,  Quiches  and  Mayas,  Peruvians, 
Araucanians,  and  Algonkins  was  thought  to  have  some  rela 
tion  to  the  dead.  The  Ojibways  called  the  bridge  they  thought 
the  spirits  of  the  dead  had  to  pass,  the  owl  bridge.  The  Creek 
priests  carried  a  stuffed  owl  with  them  as  the  badge  of  their 
profession.  The  Arickaras  placed  one  in  their  council  lodge, 
and  the  culture-hero  of  the  Monquins  of  California  was  repre 
sented,  like  Athene,  as  having  one  for  his  companion.  The 
natives  of  the  Antilles  wore  tunics  with  figures  of  these  birds 
embroidered  on  them.3 


Irving,  Tour  on  the  Prairies,  92,  seq.  a  I  Bancroft,  219. 

sBrinton,  no-li. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  263 

Among  the  Zufiis,  owls  of  pottery  were  very  common  ob 
jects  of  worship.  Says  Brinton,  the  Indians  were  of  opinion 
that  there  were  great  numbers  of  inferior  deities,  and  that  the 
irrational  animals  were  engaged  in  viewing  their  actions.  The 
eagle  for  this  purpose  with  her  keen  eye  soared  about  in  the 
day,  and  the  owl  with  her  nightly  eye  was  perched  on  the  trees 
around  their  camp.  Therefore  when  they  observed  the  eagle 
or  the  owl  near,  they  immediately  offered  sacrifice  or  burned 
tobacco. 

Other  birds  shared  in  the  worship  of  the  tribes.  The  Aztecs 
reverenced  a  bird  called  Quetzal,  a  variety  of  paroquet.  Neither 
Hurons  nor  Mandans  would  kill  doves,  for  they  believed  they 
were  inhabited  by  the  souls  of  the  departed.1  The  Floridians 
had  a  sacred  bird  called  Tonatsuli.2  The  name  denoted  a 
sweet  singer.  It  was  probably  the  mocking-bird.3  Crows  were 
held  in  veneration  by  the  Indians  of  Rhode  Island,  and  were 
rarely  killed.  They  had  a  tradition  that  a  crow  first  brought  to 
them  a  grain  of  corn  in  one  ear  and  a  bean  in  the  other  from 
the  southwest,  and  from  that  seed  came  all  their  corn  and 
beans.4  The  Kutchin  would  pray  to  a  passing  crow  for  meat.5 
The  Caribs  thought  that  bats  were  deities  whose  office  it  was 
to  watch  during  the  night.6 

"Of  all  animals,"  says  Brinton,  "the  serpent  is  the  most 
mysterious.  Alone  of  all  creatures  it  swiftly  progresses  with 
out  feet,  fins,  or  wings.  Said  wise  King  Solomon,  '  There  be 
three  things  which  are  too  wonderful  for  me,  yea,  four  which 
I  know  not,  and  the  chief  of  them  are  the  way  of  an  eagle,  and 
the  way  of  a  serpent  on  a  rock.'  It  seems  to  be  associated  in 
its  winding  course  to  rivers.  The  Kennebec,  a  stream  in  Maine, 
in  the  Algonkin  means  snake,  and  the  Antietam,  in  Maryland, 
in  Jroquois  has  the  same  significance.  How  easily  might 
savages,  construing  the  figure  literally,  make  the  serpent  a 


1  Brinton's  Myths,  111-12.  2  Brinton's  Florida,  107. 

3  i  Bancroft,  520.  4  i  Arnold's  Rhode  Island,  80. 

s  Smithsonian  Rep.,  66,  325.  6  3  Picart,  137. 


264  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

water-god !"  This  they  did  to  a  certain  extent  Among  sev 
eral  tribes  the  words  for  spirit  and  snake  are  similar,  as  among 
the  Dacotahs,  Shawnees,  and  Sauks.  In  the  Crow  dialect  of 
the  Dacotah  laliise  is  snake,  Isahe  spirit.1  It  has  in  association 
of  ideas  become  connected  with  the  lightning.  The  Algonkins 
thought  the  lightning  was  an  immense  serpent.  The  Shawnees 
called  the  thunder  the  hissing  of  the  great  snake;  and  Tlaloc, 
the  Toltec  thunder-god,  held  a  serpent  of  gold  in  his  hand  to 
represent  the  lightning.  The  Caribs  spoke  of  the  god  of  the 
thunder-storm  as  a  great  serpent,  and  in  the  central  region  of 
the  volcanic  island  of  Dominica  dwelt  a  monstrous  serpent. 
Racumon,  the  great  serpent,  was  brother  of  Lavacon,  the  ele 
mental  bird.2  In  the  Ojibway  mythology  the  serpent  robs  the 
thunder-birds'  nests. 

The  Potawatomies  entertained  a  high  degree  of  veneration 
for  the  rattlesnake.  They  seldom  killed  one,  and  if  they  did 
it  was  accompanied  with  forms  and  ceremonies,  and  a  sacrifice 
was  left  near  the  carcass.  The  fang  was  said  to  be  a  charm 
against  rheumatism.3 

Says  Henry,  "  I  once  saw  a  rattlesnake  which,  as  I  was  about 
to  kill,  the  Indians  [Ojibways]  surrounded,  addressing  it  by 
turns  and  calling  it  their  grandfather.  During  this  part  of  the 
ceremony  they  filled  their  pipes,  and  now  each  blew  the  smoke 
toward  the  snake.  After  remaining  coiled  and  receiving  incense 
for  the  space  of  half  an  hour,  it  stretched  itself  along  the  ground 
in  visible  good  humor.  At  last  it  moved  slowly  away,  the  In 
dians  following  it  and  still  addressing  it  by  the  title  of  grand 
father,  beseeching  it  to  take  care  of  their  families  during  their 
absence.  They  further  requested  that  he  would  remain  and 
inhabit  their  country.  The  next  day,  a  storm  arising  while  we 
were  out  on  the  lake,  the  Indians  prayed  and  offered  sacrifices 
to  the  god-rattlesnake.  One  of  the  chiefs  took  a  dog,  and, 
after  tying  its  fore-legs  together,  threw  it  overboard,  at  the 
same  time  calling  on  the  snake  to  preserve  us  from  being 

1  Brinton,  114-15.  a  Ib.,  120-21.  3  i  Keating,  127. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  265 

drowned,  and  desiring  him  to  satisfy  his  hunger  with  the  car 
cass  of  the  dog.  The  wind  increased.  Another  chief  sacrificed 
another  dog,  with  the  addition  of  some  tobacco.  In  the  prayer 
which  accompanied  these  gifts  he  besought  the  snake,  as  be 
fore,  not  to  avenge  upon  the  Indians  the  insult  which  he  had 
received  from  myself  in  my  design  to  put  him  to  death." 

Carver  says  he  was  told  a  remarkable  story  concerning  one 
of  these  reptiles.  An  Indian  belonging  to  the  Menomonee 
nation,  having  taken  one  of  them,  found  means  to  tame  it,  and, 
when  he  had  done  this,  treated  it  as  a  deity,  calling  it  his  great 
father,  and  carrying  it  with  him  in  a  box  wherever  he  went. 
This  the  Indian  had  done  for  several  summers.1  The  Winneba- 
goes  reverenced  and  never  killed  the  rattlesnake.  The  Indians 
of  Florida  venerated  the  rattlesnake,  and  would  not  kill  one, 
for  fear  its  spirit  would  incite  its  kindred  to  revenge  its  death. 
The  Cherokees  worshipped  the  rattlesnake.  This  worship  paid 
to  the  rattlesnake  was  universal  among  all  the  tribes;  but  worship 
was  not  conferred  exclusively  upon  that  serpent.  All  the  snakes 
of  the  country  enjoyed  a  share  of  it,  though  in  a  less  degree. 
The  Indians  suffered  them  all  to  live  unmolested,  on  which  ac 
count  they  became  very  numerous.2  In  Brazil,  in  a  large  town  of 
eight  thousand  cabins,  Don  Alvarez  found  a  tower  which  con 
tained  a  serpent  twenty-seven  feet  long,  with  a  very  large  head. 
The  Indians  worshipped  this  serpent  as  a  divinity,  and  fed  it 
with  human  flesh.  The  Peruvians  worshipped  adders.3  Many 
images  of  serpents  were  found  in  South  America,  before  which 
the  inhabitants  knelt  in  adoration. 

In  Mexico,  many  sculptured  images  of  serpents  are  found. 
There  is  one  noble  specimen  of  the  great  serpent  idol,  almost 
perfect,  and  of  fine  workmanship.  This  monstrous  divinity  is 
represented  in  the  act  of  swallowing  a  human  victim,  which  is 
seen  crushed  and  struggling  in  its  horrid  jaws.4  In  the  town 
of  Tenayuco,  Diaz  found  so  many  enormous  figures  of  serpents 


1  Carver's  Travels,  47.  2  I  Logan's  Upper  South  Carolina,  89. 

3  i  Garcilasso,  188.  «  Bullock,  328. 


266  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

which  the  inhabitants  worshipped  as  gods  that  he  named  it  the 
town  of  Serpents.1 

It  is  evident  that  although  some  animals  may  have  received 
a  preference,  yet  all  animals  shared  in  the  superstitious  worship 
of  primitive  peoples,  and  this  broad  universality  of  their  wor 
ship  militates  against  any  other  theory  of  its  origin  except  that 
based  upon  the  transmigration  of  souls.  If  all  animal  life  was 
accounted  for  by  transmigration,  then  all  animal  life  would  be 
surrounded  with  superstitious  fear, — which  was  the  fact.  The 
religious  ceremonies  of  the  Ojibways  consisted  chiefly  in  songs 
and  speeches  to  birds  and  beasts.  The  Cceur-d'Aleins  rendered 
divine  worship  to  all  the  animals  they  knew.2  The  Wyandots 
and  Ottawas  thought  that  all  the  animals  were  divinities,  who 
watched  the  actions  of  men,  and  should  receive  worship. 

Among  all  the  tribes  of  both  Americas  the  animal  form  is  a 
prominent  feature  in  their  primitive  art. 

In  the  mounds  are  found  many  animal  images  ;  the  sculp 
tured  figures  of  birds,  serpents,  and  frogs  are  most  common.3 
Nearly  every  animal  known  to  natural  history  is  represented. 
The  tortoise,  which  was  a  symbol  of  the  Tyrian  colony  of 
Thebes,  in  Greece,  and  the  serpent,  are  ever  recurring  upon 
American  ruins.  At  Uxmal  is  a  building  called  "  the  house 
of  the  turtles,"  from  a  row  of  tortoises  around  the  cornice. 
Divers  turtles  in  stone  have  also  been  discovered  among  the 
ruins.  In  a  large  box  filled  with  terra-cotta  antiquities  once 
offered  to  Mr.  Wilson,  about  three-fourths  of  the  whole  collec 
tion  were  serpents  and  turtles.4 

In  the  vases  found  in  the  sacred  spring  of  the  Zufiis,  a  vast 
amount  of  labor  was  found  to  have  been  spent  in  decorating 
their  interior  and  exterior  with  animals.  Horned  frogs  and 
tadpoles  alternate  on  the  inner  surface.  Several  of  the  figures 
would  serve  as  spirited  specimens  of  diablerie.  In  a  large  vase, 


1  Diaz,  260.  2  De  Smet,  Ind.  Sketches,  16. 

3  Squier  and  Davis,  Aborig.  Mon.,  259,  268. 
*  Wilson's  Conquest  of  Mexico,  161-62. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  267 

which  was  an  offering  to  the  spirit  of  the  spring1,  a  frog  was 
in  the  act  of  leaping  from  the  vessel  as  if  disturbed  by  some 
one's  approach.  The  outline  of  this  vessel  is  identical  with 
that  of  the  classical  caldrons  of  antiquity  and  of  our  own 
times.  This  introduction  of  figures  of  water-animals  on  vases 
dedicated  to  the  genii  of  fountains  is  peculiarly  appropriate. 
In  another  vase  are  figures  of  crested  serpents,  probably  repre 
senting  some  water-snake,  and  very  similar  to  those  found  in 
the  ruins  of  Pompeii.  In  still  another  vase  the  figures  of  but 
terflies  appear. 

The  elephant  appears  in  American  art  three  times  :  once  in 
the  elephant  head  of  Palenque,  where  its  head  forms  the  head 
dress  of  a  bas-relief  figure  ;  again  in  the  large  animal  mound  of 
Wisconsin,  and  again  in  the  pipe  recently  discovered  in  Iowa. 
On  the  stem  of  this  pipe  a  very  perfect  representation  of  this 
animal  appears.1 

Among  the  most  civilized  nations  transmigration  and  meta 
morphoses  filled  their  pantheon  with  animal  gods  and  mythical 
beings  which  assumed  animal  or  composite  forms.  All  of  these 
aided  to  give  color  and  form  to  the  art  of  those  races  which, 
emerging  from  the  primitive  condition  that  originated  and  fos 
tered  these  ideas,  had  not  thrown  them  off.  Animal  forms 
appear  everywhere  in  their  art.  About  one-third  of  the  Nica- 
raguan  statues  in  stone  represent  animals  and  monsters.  A 
very  remarkable  feature  of  the  art  of  the  civilized  nations  of 
Mexico,  and  especially  Nicaragua,  is  that  most  of  their  statuary 
exhibits  the  human  form  connected  with  the  animal.  The 
human  form  clothed  in  animal  dress  is  very  frequently  found. 

In  many  of  the  bas-reliefs  and  pictographic  representations 
the  head-dress  is  the  head  of  some  animal,  and  occasionally  a 
composite  figure  surrounded  by  much  ornamental  work.  There 
can  be  little  doubt  that  these  designs  were  intended  to  repre 
sent  and  satisfy  the  primitive  styles  which  we  have  found 
among  the  barbarous  tribes,  and  surviving  to  some  extent 

1  Short,  530-31. 


268  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

among  the  civilized  races.  These  styles  of  animal  dress  had 
their  origin  in  real  life.  The  warrior  donned  the  skin  of  the 
tiger  or  other  animal  to  render  himself  terrible  in  war.  The 
sorcerer  clothed  himself  in  the  skin  of  some  animal  revered  by 
his  tribe  to  inspire  them  with  reverence  for  himself.  Each  in 
dividual  carried  his  personal  manitou,  generally  the  skin  of 
some  animal.  Each  gens  was  represented  by  a  totemic  badge, 
generally  some  animal.  In  the  pictography  of  the  Codices  in 
Lord  Kingsborough's  Mexican  Antiquities,  we  have  composite 
figures  of  tigers  with  human  hands,  and  other  combinations  of 
animal  and  human  form  frequently  occurring. 

The  same  superstitious  ideas  that  in  art  found  representation 
in  composite  forms  would  in  tradition  find  expression  in  myths 
of  fabulous  animals.  Some  of  these  animals  assumed  unnatural 
forms,  others  did  unnatural  acts.  Among  many  of  the  American 
tribes  animals  have  taken  an  important  part  in  their  cosmogony. 
In  the  cosmogony  of  the  Gallinomeros  of  California,  animals 
were  in  existence  before  there  was  light.  One  of  the  catastro 
phes  that  happened  in  this  darkness  resulted  in  light  being 
produced.  The  hawk  happening  by  chance  to  fly  into  the  face 
of  the  coyote,  there  followed  mutual  apologies,  and  afterward 
a  long  discussion  on  the  emergency  of  the  situation.  The 
coyote  got  ready  a  ball  of  inflammable  material  and  some 
pieces  of  flint,  which  the  hawk  took  and  flew  with  them  into 
the  sky,  where  he  struck  fire  with  the  flints  and  lighted  his 
ball,  and  sent  it  whirling  along  in  a  fierce  red  glow,  as  it  con 
tinues  to  the  present  day,  for  it  was  the  sun.1  In  the  Chibcha 
cosmogony  the  blackbird  plays  a  prominent  part  in  scattering 
light  all  over  the  world.2 

The  great  hero-deity  of  the  Thlinkeets,  Yehl — the  crow, 
their  creator — brooded  over  dark  chaos,  and  beat  back  its 
waters  with  its  black  wings.  A  myth  of  the  Tolowas,  in  ac 
counting  for  the  manner  in  which  the  tribe  obtained  fire,  said 
that  the  spiders  wove  a  gossamer  balloon  out  of  their  webs 

1  3  Bancroft,  85,  86.  2  P.  Simon,  241  ;  Bollaert,  n. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  269 

and  started  on  a  perilous  journey  to  the  moon,  from  which  they 
expected  to  obtain  the  fire  and  return  to  the  earth  with  it.  The 
Cahroc  folk-lore  is  full  of  the  good  deeds  of  the  coyote.  It 
was  he  that  opened  up  the  Klamath  for  the  salmon  at  the 
solicitation  of  the  starving  people,  and  when  the  dam  was 
opened  the  green  waters  rushed  through  all  ashinewith  salmon. 
"  The  adulations  of  flatterers  and  sycophants  puffed  up  the 
coyote  to  such  a  degree  that  he  determined  to  have  a  dance 
through  heaven  itself;  and  whom  should  he  choose  as  his 
partner  but  a  star,  which,  after  much  solicitation,  engaged  with 
him  in  the  dance.  But  its  giddy  mazes  were  too  much  for  the 
poor  coyote,  who  slipped  his  hold.  Terrible  was  the  fall,  but 
after  ten  long  snows  he  strikes  the  earth,  and  is  smashed  as 
flat  as  a  willow  mat."  J  The  following  myth  of  the  origin  of 
fish  in  Clear  Lake  makes  the  coyote  play  the  role  of  creator 
again.  He  filled  himself  with  the  water  of  Clear  Lake,  after 
eating  a  great  quantity  of  grasshoppers,  and  lay  down  to  sleep, 
when  he  was  thrust  through  with  a  spear,  and  all  the  water  and 
grasshoppers  ran  out  and  down  into  the  lake  basin,  and  the 
insects  became  fish.2 

A  Shasta  legend  makes  a  ground-mole  the  creator  of  the 
world,  which  was  heaved  into  existence  by  the  "  rooting  under 
neath  somewhere"  of  that  a,nimal.3  The  Pima  creator  was  the 
butterfly,  the  prettiest  fancy  of  all.  It  was  a  metamorphose,  how 
ever,  that  gave  the  little  creature  such  power.  Their  evil  spirit 
seems  to  have  been  the  eagle,  to  whose  instrumentality  they 
ascribed  the  deluge.  The  only  man  saved  took  revenge  when 
the  waters  subsided  by  climbing  to  the  eagle's  nest  and  slaying 
it.  About  its  nest  he  found  the  bodies  of  a  great  multitude  of 
those  the  eagle  had  destroyed.  He  found  a  woman  the  mon 
ster  had  taken  to  wife,  and  a  child,  from  whom  descended  the 
ancient  people  called  Hohocam,  who  were  led  in  their  wander 
ings  by  an  eagle  and  passed  into  Mexico.4 

In   Indian   folk-lore,  the  winds  are  generally  produced   by 


3  Bancroft,  138-39.  2  3  ib.,  86,  87.  3  3  ib.,  547.  4  3  ib.,  79. 

18 


270  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

birds.  The  owl  creates  the  north  wind,  the  butterfly  the  south.1 
Among  the  Iroquois,  the  wind  was  thought  to  be  produced  by 
a  water-lizard  which  crawled  out  of  its  pool.2  The  Piutes  had 
a  fabulous  serpent  deity  in  Pyramid  Lake.  The  wind,  when 
it  swept  down  among  the  nine  islands  of  the  lake,  drove  the 
waters  into  the  most  fantastic  swirls  and  eddies  in  localities 
when  the  rest  of  the  lake  was  placid.  This,  said  the  Piutes, 
was  the  snake  causing  the  lake  to  boil  like  a  pot.  Among  the 
Northern  tribes  about  the  Great  Lakes,  the  god  of  water  de 
scribed  by  Perrot  was  of  composite  form,  lived  in  a  cavern,  and 
produced  the  winds  by  shaking  his  monstrous  tail.3  Pre-eminent 
in  the  Ojibway  tales  about  water-animals  was  the  toad  (frog), 
by  which  they  said  a  deluge  was  produced.  A  huge  toad  had 
a  quarrel  with  some  land-animal  with  horns.  The  toad  had  the 
whole  management  of  the  waters,  and  appears  to  have  presided 
over  them  with  great  satisfaction  to  the  Indian  race  until  this 
fight  arose,  when,  failing  to  swallow  its  antagonist,  the  latter 
rushed  upon  it  and  pierced  a  hole  in  its  side,  out  of  which  the 
waters  gushed  in  floods  and  overflowed  the  earth.  Manabozho, 
the  great  hare,  who  was  living  at  that  time,  fled  for  refuge  to 
the  mountains,  carrying  some  animals  with  him.  When  the 
mountain-tops  were  flooded,  he  took  to  a  tree,  and  with  the 
aid  of  various  animals  he  recreated  the  earth.  The  most  use 
ful  of  these  animals  was  the  musk-rat,  which  went  to  the  bottom 
of  the  waters  and  brought  him  earth.4  The  traditional  deluge 
of  the  Crees  was  caused  by  a  quarrel  of  a  large  fish  with  one 
of  their  demi-gods,  in  which  it  attempted  to  drown  the  god.5 

Traditions  of  the  production  of  convulsive  changes  in  the 
earth's  surface  by  fabulous  animals  are  frequent.  There  is  a 
legend  of  Aputaput  Fall,  Oregon,  in  which  a  beaver  of  enormous 
size,  when  pursued  by  the  hunters,  tore  away  the  banks  of 
Pelouse  River,  and  in  its  final  struggle  produced  the  cataract.6 


1  5  Schoolcraft,  420.  2  Parkman's  Jesuits,  Ixxxviii. 

3  Memoirs,. 20.  *  Jones,  Ojibways,  33-35. 

s  Hartwig's  Polar  World,  325.  6  4  Wilkes,  Ex.  Exp.,  467. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  271 

A  fabulous  animal  of  the  Algonkins  was  the  great  beaver,  which 
was  one  of  the  most  powerful  of  the  manitous.  It  was  he  who 
formed  Lake  Nipissing.  The  cataracts  in  the  Cutaway  River, 
which  issues  from  the  Nipissing,  are  the  relics  of  dikes  thrown 
up  by  the  great  beaver  to  form  that  lake ;  but  he  died  in  the 
midst  of  the  undertaking.  He  is  buried  at  the  top  of  the 
mountain  to  which  he  has  given  his  form.  No  native  passes 
the  foot  of  his  tomb  .without  smoking  in  honor  of  him.1  The 
Kaniagmuts  say  that  the  island  of  Kadiak  was  separated  from 
Alaska  by  a  large  otter  which  pushed  its  way  through  from 
Cook's  Inlet.2  The  Salish  Indians  have  a  fabulous  toad,  which, 
when  pursued,  in  its  efforts  to  escape  destruction  played  havoc 
with  terrestrial  objects,  but  succeeded  in  springing  upon  the 
face  of  the  moon. 

Among  some  of  the  Western  Indians  there  is  a  tradition  of 
an  immense  eagle  which  hovers  in  the  air  out  of  sight,  and 
carries  a  lake  on  his  back,  full  of  water.  When  this  aerial 
monster  flaps  his  wings,  loud  peals  of  thunder  roll  over  the 
prairie.  When  he  winks  his  eyes,  it  lightens.  When  he  wags 
his  tail,  the  waters  of  the  lake  overflow  and  produce  rain.3 

In  the  myths  of  nearly  all  the  tribes  the  thunder  and  light 
ning  are  thought  to  be  produced  by  either  a  bird  or  a  serpent. 
In  many  of  them  a  fabulous  animal,  by  the  name  of  the  thunder- 
bird,  becomes  a  well-defined  personality.  In  some  myths  the 
thunder  and  lightning  are  the  result  of  a  struggle  between  the 
serpent  and  the  thunder-bird.  The  serpent  produces  the  light 
ning's  flash  from  its  forked  tongue,  whilst  robbing  the  thunder- 
bird's  nest.  The  thunder  is  the  flapping  of  the  wings  of  the 
bird  in  the  struggle.  These  fanciful  myths  about  animals  can 
be  referred  generally  to  a  simpler  germ  from  which  they  have 
sprung,  and  have  gradually  been  clothed  with  the  imagery  of 
an  uncultivated  mind,  to  which  nothing  is  incredible. 

In  a  Thlinkeet  myth,  the  soul  of  an  ancestor  appears  in  the 
thunder-bird.  In  the  Thlinkeet  deluge,  a  brother  and  sister  were 

1  2  Chateaubriand's  Travels,  41.  2  Ball's  Alaska,  405.  3  Boiler,  257. 


2/2 


PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 


forced  to  separate  by  the  flood,  and  the  parting  word  of  the 
brother  was  that  his  sister  should  never  see  him  again,  but 
should  hear  his  voice.  He  then  clothed  himself  in  the  skin  of  a 
great  bird  and  flew  away  southwest.  "  The  sister  was  swallowed 
in  a  great  hole  or  crater  near  Sitka ;  but  when  the  storm  sweeps 
down  over  the  country  about  her  subterranean  home,  the  light 
ning  of  the  thunder-bird's  eyes  gleams  down  her  crater  window, 
and  the  thundering  of  his  wings  re-echoes  throughout  all  her 
subterranean  halls." J  Fig.  1 3  is  a  representation  of  the  thunder- 
bird  of  the  Haidahs.2 

FIG.  13. 


The  Ojibways  had  their  thunder-bird.  When  seen  flying  by 
day,  it  foreboded  misfortune.  These  fabulous  birds  were  sup 
posed  to  have  their  nests  somewhere.  A  great  Ojibway 
warrior  was  returning  late  one  night  from  the  hunt,  when  one 
of  these  monstrous  birds  caught  him,  and  arose  and  flew  west 
ward  to  a  high  hill,  where  he  was  left  in  the  nest  of  the  young 
birds.  They  immediately  began  to  peck  at  this  delicate  morsel 
that  had  been  provided  for  them.  The  warrior  summoned  up 
courage,  and  determined  to  defend  himself  from  these  young 
thunder-birds ;  but  whenever  they  winked  a  flash  of  lightning 


1  3  Bancroft,  103-4. 


2  Swan,  Haidah  Indians,  Smith.  Contrib.,  No.  267. 


ANIMAL-WORSHIP.  273 

would  pass  from  their  eyes  and  burn  him.  By  the  most  won 
derful  deeds  of  valor  known  to  Indian  folk-lore,  he  mastered  the 
tender  birds,  took  their  hearts,  and  when  he  got  home  made  a 
delicious  broil  of  them.  Since  this  experience  with  the  warrior 
these  birds  do  not  trouble  the  Indians,  but  live  on  snakes  and 
fish.  Their  nests  are  now  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  but  they 
are  heard  at  times  passing  east  to  the  sea.1 

There  are  among  the  different  families  of  a  tribe  different 
ideas  of  the  size  of  this  mythical  bird,  for  among  the  Ojibways 
another  tradition  says  that  the  thunder-bird  is  about  as  large 
as  the  end  of  the  little  finger,  and  cannot  reproduce  her  own 
species,  and  is  eternal.  Her  mate  is  a  serpent,  whose  fiery 
tongue  destroys  the  young  ones  as  they  are  hatched.  She  sits 
on  her  eggs  during  fair  weather  and  hatches  her  brood  at  the 
approach  of  a  storm.2  We  have  here  a  very  pretty  mytho 
logical  sister  for  the  halcyon  of  the  Greek  mythology. 

A  large  bird,  according  to  tradition,  used  to  slay  the  buffaloes 
of  early  day,  and  sit  on  the  ledge  of  the  Red  Rocks,  on  top 
of  Coteau  des  Prairies,  and  eat  them.  Their  blood  ran  down 
the  rocks  and  made  them  red.  This  bird  had  its  nest  near 
by,  and  when  serpents  crawled  in  to  molest  the  eggs  they  would 
hatch  out  in  a  clap  of  thunder.3 

According  to  Dacotah  tradition,  they  won  a  battle  against 
the  lowas  by  aid  of  a  thunder-bird.  Their  thunder-bird  was  a 
winged  monster,  which  bore  down  on  the  Iowa  village  in  a 
most  terrible  and  godlike  manner.  Tempests  howled,  light 
nings  flashed,  the  thunder  uttered  its  voice,  and  the  earth  trem 
bled.  A  bolt  was  hurled  at  the  lowas,  which  ploughed  the 
earth  and  formed  that  deep  ravine  near  the  village  of  Oak 
Grove.4 

"  A  bird  of  thunder  was  once  killed,  the  Dacotahs  assert, 
near  Kaposia.  Its  face  resembled  the  human  countenance. 
Its  nose  was  hooked  like  the  bill  of  an  eagle.  Its  wings  had 


1  Copway's  Ojibways,  109-13.  a  2  Catlin,  111.,  164. 

3  2  ib.,  1 68.  *  I  Minnesota  Hist.  Coll.,  145. 


274  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

four  joints,  and  were  zigzag  like  the  lightning.  About  thirty 
miles  from  Big  Stone  Lake,  near  the  head-waters  of  the  Minne 
sota,  there  are  several  small  lakes  bordered  with  oak-trees. 
This  is  the  supposed  birthplace  of  the  thunder-bird,  and  is 
called  the  nest  of  thunder."  1  The  Dacotahs  show  at  this  place 
the  footprints  of  the  thunder-bird  twenty-five  miles  apart. 

Tupan,  the  thunder-bird  of  the  Tupi  tribe  of  Brazil,  flapped 
his  celestial  wings  and  flashed  light  therefrom,  and  his  name 
still  stands  among  the  Christianized  natives  as  the  equivalent 
of  God.2  The  Caribs  thought  the  thunder-cloud  was  a  bird, 
and  that  it  produced  the  lightning  in  true  Carib  fashion  by 
blowing  it  through  a  hollow  reed,  just  as  they  do  their  poisoned 
darts.3  The  thunder-bird  appears  upon  the  Guatemalan  sculp 
tures.  The  natives  of  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  have  a  tradition 
of  two  birds  with  maiden  faces  that  came  with  a  storm  from 
the  east.  They  seized  men  and  women  and  carried  them  off 
to  their  mountain  nest.  At  last  they  made  an  image  of  a  man 
and  fastened  it  into  the  ground.  One  of  the  birds  swooped 
down  upon  this,  and  fastened  its  talons  so  that  they  could  not 
be  released,  and  they  killed  it.4 

A  tradition  very  similar  to  this  was  found  among  the  Illinois, 
which  I  will  give  in  the  language  of  Mr.  Jones.  "  In  the  reign 
of  the  illustrious  Owatoga,  chief  of  the  Illinois,  they  were  ter 
rified  with  a  fearful  visitation  from  a  thunder-bird.  There  ap 
peared  upon  the  inaccessible  cliffs,  where  it  made  its  home,  an 
immense  and  hideous  animal,  half  bird,  half  beast,  which,  from 
the  circumstance  of  its  having  wings,  they  called  the  Piasau 
bird.  This  name,  like  all  Indian  names,  is  significant  of  the 
character  of  the  monster  which  it  designates  :  it  means  the  man- 
destroying  bird.  This  bird  is  described  as  being  of  gigantic  size, 
capable  of  bearing  off  with  ease  in  its  talons  a  horse  or  buffalo. 
Its  head  and  beak  were  like  those  of  the  vulture,  with  eyes  of 
the  most  dazzling  brilliancy ;  its  wings  black  as  the  raven  and 


*  Neill's  Minnesota,  58.  2  2  Tylor,  262-63. 

3  Brinton,  108.  4  3  Bancroft,  500. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  275 

clothed  with  thunder,  making  a  most  fearful  noise  in  its  heavy 
flight;  its  legs  four  in  number,  and  talons  like  those  of  a  mighty 
eagle;  its  body  similar  to  that  of  the  dragon,  ending  with  a 
tail  of  huge  dimensions  like  a  scorpion's.  Its  body  was  gor 
geously  colored  with  every  hue,  and  in  its  flight  it  made  a  most 
imposing  spectacle,  inspiring  terror,  awe,  and  wonder.  Such 
was  this  strange  visitor  which  had  taken  up  its  abode  in  their 
sacred  cliffs;  and  while  their  priests  were  studying  the  omen, 
whether  it  should  be  for  good  or  for  evil,  all  doubt  was  dissi 
pated  by  the  sudden  descent  of  the  bird  into  their  midst,  which 
seized  one  of  their  bravest  warriors  in  its  talons  and  bore  him 
as  a  prey  to  its  wild  eyrie  in  the  rocks.  Never  again  was  the 
unfortunate  victim  seen  by  his  friends.  But  the  sacrifice  was 
not  complete.  Brave  after  brave,  and  women  and  children  not 
a  few,  were  borne  off  in  succession  by  the  fierce  devourer, 
whose  appetite  seemed  but  to  be  whetted  to  a  keener  set  the 
more  it  tasted  of  human  blood.  Such  was  the  fearful  state  of 
things,  when  the  brave  Owatoga,  chief  of  this  mighty  tribe, 
sought  out  his  priests,  and  with  them,  retiring  to  a  secret  place, 
fasted  many  days  and  with  all  the  mummery  of  their  religion. 
At  length,  in  a  trance,  it  was  revealed  to  Owatoga  that  the 
terrible  visitant  who  had  hitherto  eluded  their  utmost  sagacity 
might  be  destroyed.  The  mode  was  this.  First,  a  noble  victim 
was  to  be  selected  from  among  the  bravest  warriors  of  the  tribe, 
who,  by  religious  rites,  was  to  be  sanctified  for  the  sacrifice. 
Secondly,  twenty  equally  brave,  with  their  stoutest  bows  and 
sharpest  arrows,  were  to  conceal  themselves  near  the  spot  of 
sacrifice.  The  victim  was  to  be  led  forth  and  singly  to  take  his 
stand  upon  an  exposed  point  of  the  rock,  where  the  ravenous 
bird  would  be  likely  to  notice  and  seize  upon  him.  At  the 
moment  of  descent  the  concealed  warriors  were  to  let  fly  their 
arrows,  with  the  assurance  that  he  would  fall.  .  .  .  Owatoga 
appeared  at  the  head  of  his  tribe  as  the  voluntary  victim.  .  .  . 
Soon  was  the  ill-omened  bird  seen  hovering  over  the  place,  and, 
after  wheeling  about  for  a  few  moments  high  above  the  head  of 
the  devoted  chief,  nearing  at  each  gyration  the  unquailing  vie- 


276  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

tim,  suddenly  he  came  thundering  down  toward  his  prize.  In 
an  instant  the  barbed  arrows  from  twenty  sure  bows  buried 
themselves  to  the  feather  in  the  body  of  the  common  foe,  and 
he  fell  quivering  and  dead  at  the  feet  of  the  noble  chieftain, 
himself  escaping  unscathed.  ...  It  was  determined  to  per 
petuate  the  event  by  engraving  the  picture  of  the  Piasau  bird 
upon  the  smooth-sided  limestone  cliffs  which  tower  above  the 
river.  There  it  was  done,  and  stained  with  the  fast  and  fade 
less  colors  whose  subtle  compounding  the  Indian  only  knows, 
and  which  remain  plainly  visible  to  the  present  day.  The  spot 
became  sacred  from  that  time,  and  no  Indian  ascended  or  de 
scended  the  Father  of  Waters  for  many  a  year  without  dis 
charging  his  arrow  at  the  image  of  the  warrior-destroying 
bird."1 

Of  the  worship  of  compound  monsters,  impossible  hybrid 
animals  and  forms  that  are  half  human,  half  brutal,  Mr.  Spencer 
says,  "  When  a  chief  nicknamed  the  wolf  carries  away  from 
an  adjacent  tribe  a  wife  who  is  remembered  either  under  the 
animal  name  of  her  tribe  or  as  a  woman,  it  will  happen  that  if 
her  son  distinguishes  himself,  the  remembrance  of  him  among 
his  descendants  will  be  that  he  was  born  of  a  wolf  and  some 
other  animal,  or  of  a  wolf  and  a  woman.  We  need  not  be 
surprised,  then,  at  finding  among  the  Egyptians  the  goddess 
Pasht  represented  as  a  woman  with  a  lion's  head,  and  the  god 
Month  as  a  man  with  the  head  of  a  hawk."  Gods  having  the 
form  of  a  man  with  an  eagle's  tail,  or  uniting  a  human  bust  to 
the  body  of  a  fish,  no  longer  appear  such  unaccountable  con 
ceptions.2 

Many  nondescript  animals  are  pictured  on  the  exposed  sur 
faces  of  rocks  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  both 
Americas.  Where  they  are  isolated  and  not  a  part  of  a  picto- 
graphic  system  of  writing,  they  are  probably  drawn  as  objects 
of  worship.  Specimens  of  these  are  described  by  Father  Mar- 
quette  and  Hennepin  in  the  following  language:  "As  we 

1  Jones's  Illinois  and  the  West,  53-59.  a  Spencer's  Rec.  Dis.,  46,  seq. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  277 

coasted  along  rocks  frightful  for  their  height  and  length,  we 
saw  two  monsters  painted  on  one  of  these  rocks  which  startled 
us  at  first,  and  on  which  the  boldest  Indian  dare  not  gaze  long. 
They  are  as  large  as  a  calf,  with  horns  on  the  head  like  a  deer, 
a  fearful  look,  red  eyes,  bearded  like  a  tiger,  the  face  somewhat 
like  a  man's,  the  body  covered  with  scales,  and  the  tail  so  long 
that  it  twice  makes  the  turn  of  the  body,  passing  over  the  head 
and  down  between  the  legs,  and  ending  at  last  in  a  fish's  tail. 
Green,  red,  and  a  kind  of  black  are  the  colors  employed.  On 
the  whole,  these  two  monsters  are  so  well  painted  that  we  could 
not  believe  any  Indian  to  have  been  the  designer,  as  good 
painters  in  France  would  find  it  hard  to  do  as  well ;  besides 
this,  they  are  so  high  up  on  the  rock  that  it  is  hard  to  get  con 
veniently  at  them  to  paint  them."1 

Says  Hennepin,  "  I  had  quite  forgot  to  relate  that  the  Illinois 
had  told  us  that  toward  the  cape  which  I  have  called  in  my 
map  St.  Anthony,  near  the  nation  of  the  Messorites  [Missouris], 
there  were  some  tritons  and  other  sea-monsters  painted,  which 
the  boldest  men  durst  not  look  upon,  there  being  some  enchant 
ment  in  their  face.  I  thought  this  was  a.  story ;  but  when  we 
came  near  the  place  they  had  mentioned,  we  saw,  instead  of 
these  monsters,  a  horse  and  some  other  beasts  painted  upon  the 
rock  with  red  colors  by  the  savages.  The  Illinois  had  told  us 
likewise  that  the  rock  on  which  these  dreadful  monsters  stood 
was  so  steep  that  no  man  could  climb  up  to  it ;  but  had  we  not 
been  afraid  of  the  savages  more  than  of  the  monsters,  we  had 
certainly  got  up  to  them.  There  is  a  common  tradition  among 
that  people  that  a  great  number  of  Miamis  were  drowned  in 
that  place,  being  pursued  by  the  savages  of  Matsigamea  ;  and 
since  that  time  the  savages  going  by  the  rock  use  to  smoke 
and  offer  tobacco  to  those  beasts,  to  appease,  as  they  say,  the 
manitou."2 

Mermaid-myths  are  found  in  some  localities.     The  Ottawas 


1  Marquette's  Narrative,  in  Shea's  Discovery,  39. 

2  Hennepin's  New  Discovery,  135-36. 


278 


PRIMITIVE   SUPERSTITIONS. 


FIG.  14. 


had  a  mermaid  which  was  a  woman  from  the  waist  up,  but  two 
fishes  below.     Her  hands  and  arms  were  covered  with  scales- 
Her  face  was  very  beautiful.     She  was  named  "  the  daughter 
of  the  flood."  '     The  natives  of  the  Arctic  regions  have  a  female 
spirit  who  is  the  protectress  of  sea-animals.      She  can  make 
them  plenty  or  scarce  as  she  pleases.     The  sorcerers  say,  how 
ever,  that  they  are  able  to  compel  her  to  let  go  the  sea-animals 
by  cutting  off  her  nails.     Whole  herds  of  walrus  rise  to  the 
surface  when  a  knuckle  is  detached.     Her  name  is  Nooliayoo, 
and   she    represents   the    mermaid-myths    of    those    Northern 
parts.     The  Indians  are  said  to  be  descended  from  her  union 
with  a  malformed  dog  which  watched  the  door  of  her  house.2 
Many  of  these  composite  forms  appear 
in  the  mythology  of  the  Haidahs.     Oo- 
lala  was  half  man  and  half  bird,  that 
lived  in  the  mountains,  and  was  greatly 
feared  by  the  natives.     Tchimose  was  a 
mythological  creature  supposed  to  live 
in  the  ocean,  and  was  represented  as  in 
Fig.   14,  taken  from   the  book    entitled 
"  Swan's  Haidah  Indians,"  published  by 
the  Smithsonian  Institution.     The  Ojib- 
ways    have    a   composite    mythological 
figure    called    Ne-ban-a-baig,  partaking 
of  the  double  nature  of  man  and  fish,  a 
notion  which,  except  as  to  sex,  has  its  analogy  in  the  mermaid 
of  Western  Europe.     These  animals,  according  to  their  tradi 
tions,  inhabit  the  upper  lakes.     A   gens   claim   descent   from 
this  fabulous  animal,  and  they  have  made  a  totem  of  it :  their 
word  for  it  might  be  translated  the  man-fish  totem.     It  is  repre 
sented  on  Plate  IV.     The  sacred  animal  of  the  Winnebagoes 
was  a  nondescript  and  composite  figure,  seen  only  by  medicine 
men  after  severe  fasting.     Fig.  15  is  a  representation  of  this 
animal. 


3  Jones,  Traditions,  126. 


2  Lyon's  Journal,  362-63. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP. 


279 


The  finding  of  the  bones  of  the  mastodon,  or  of  those  of 
other  animals  akin  to  it  in  size,  by  the  Indians  from  time  to 

FIG.  15. 


time,  has  not  had  the  tendency  to  check  their  disposition  to 
make  for  themselves  fabulous  animal  gods.  On  the  contrary, 
they  looked  upon  all  relics  of  this  nature  with  superstitious 
reverence.  The  Dacotahs  had  legends  of  large  animals  which 
they  had  preserved  to  keep  away  sickness  and  dangers.1  Mas 
todons'  bones  have  been  found  in  Wisconsin  mounds.  The 
natives  of  British  America  preserved  the  bones  of  mammoths 
found  on  Shell  Creek,  and  regarded  them  as  the  bones  of  a 
manitou.2 

A  meagre  acquaintance  with  these  large  animals  has  tended  to 
produce  superstitious  feelings  in  the  minds  of  these  uncultured 
peoples,  and  has  originated  undoubtedly  many  of  their  myths 
about  fabulous  animals.  There  can  be  but  little  doubt  that  the 
mastodon  had  existed  within  the  recollection  of  the  oldest 
members  of  some  of  the  present  tribes,  or  their  ancestors,  at 
the  time  of  the  advent  of  the  whites.  Mexican  sepulchres  have 
been  opened  containing  the  skeletons  of  the  mammoth  or  of 
some  similar  animal.  These  tombs  appeared  to  have  been 
specially  prepared  for  their  reception,  and  they  were  buried 
apparently  with  the  same  care  as  men.  Says  Mr.  Winchell  on 
this  subject,  "  I  have  observed  the  bones  of  the  mastodon  and 


Eastman's  Legends,  228. 


I  Hind's  Narrative,  313. 


28o  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

elephant  imbedded  in  peat  at  depths  so  shallow  that  I  could 
readily  believe  the  animal  to  have  occupied  the  country  during 
its  possession  by  the  Indians."1  "Judging  from  geological 
data,  the  appearance  of  man  in  America  was  later  than  in  the 
Old  World,  but  even  in  America  the  race  has  probably  looked 
upon  the  later  representatives  of  the  mastodon  and  mammoth 
tribes.  I  have  myself  exhumed  mastodon  bones  from  a  bed  of 
peat  not  more  than  three  feet  deep,  which  could  be  easily  accu 
mulated  in  five  hundred  years.  The  Indians  have  traditions  of 
the  same."2  Says  Du  Pratz,  "Some  years  ago  the  skeletons 
of  two  large  elephants  and  two  small  ones  were  discovered  in 
the  marsh  near  the  river  Ohio,  and  they  were  not  much  con 
sumed."  3  The  discovery  by  Mr.  Koch  of  a  mastodon,  which 
had  near  it  weapons  and  other  evidences  of  having  been  at 
tacked  and  killed  by  Indians  at  a  not  very  distant  day,  bears 
evidence  to  the  same  effect.  There  are  many  traditions,  among 
different  tribes,  of  these  monstrous  animals.  The  tribes  of  New 
York  had  a  tradition  of  a  remarkable  and  ferocious  animal,  the 
Yagesho,  which  existed  in  the  northern  parts  of  New  York 
about  three  centuries  ago.  "  It  was  much  superior  to  the 
largest  bear,  remarkably  long-bodied,  broad  down  by  its  shoul 
ders,  but  narrow  just  at  its  hind  legs.  It  had  a  large  head  and 
fearful  look.  Its  legs  were  short  and  thick.  Its  paws  (with 
claws  nearly  as  long  as  an  Indian's  finger)  spread  very  wide. 
It  was  almost  bare  of  hair,  except  the  head  and  the  tender  part 
of  its  legs.  Several  of  these  animals  had  been  destroyed  by  the 
Indians,  but  the  one  of  which  the  following  account  is  given 
had  escaped  them,  and  for  years  had  destroyed  many  In 
dians.  It  would  catch  and  kill  the  largest  bears  and  devour 
them.  The  men  assembled  to  deliberate  on  the  plan  of  killing 
him.  This  beast  lived  near  Lake  Hoosink,  and  got  the  scent 
of  the  party  detached  to  decoy  him,  and  rushed  upon  them. 
Arrows  and  stones  were  discharged  at  him  until  he  dropped 
down  and  died.  His  head  was  cut  off  and  carried  in  triumph 

1  Winchell's  Sketches,  350.  a  Ib.,  240.  3  2  Louisiana,  130. 


ANIMAL-WORSHIP.  281 

to  their  village  and  exalted  on  a  pole.  The  Mahicanni  claim 
the  honor  of  this  act."  J 

The  tradition  of  the  flying  heads  among  the  Iroquois,  which 
greatly  disturbed  their  quiet  and  defied  all  human  power  suc 
cessfully  to  combat,  may  be  enumerated  among  their  singular 
fancies.  These  heads,  of  monstrous  size,  enveloped  in  beards  and 
hair  of  flaming  fire,  rushed  through  the  air  like  shooting  stars 
or  falling  meteors,  threatening  the  destruction  of  their  nation. 
The  priests,  prophets,  and  medicine-men  were  alike  unsuccess 
ful  in  subduing  these  supernatural  monsters.  The  frontispiece 
is  a  representation  of  one  of  them.  The  Quis-Quis,  or  great 
hog,  was  another  monster  which  gave  the  Onondagas  great 
trouble,  as  did  also  the  great  bear,  the  horned  water-serpent,  and 
many  other  equally  fabulous  inventions.2  There  is  a  myth  that 
a  young  Iroquois  found  a  two-headed  serpent  when  he  was  out 
hunting  and  brought  it  to  his  lodge  and  fed  it.  After  some  time 
it  grew  so  large  it  rested  on  the  beams  of  the  lodge,  and  the 
hunters  had  to  feed  it  with  deer.  It  at  last  went  out-doors  and 
maintained  itself  on  a  hill.  Finally  it  surrounded  the  nation 
with  its  folds,  and,  as  they  attempted  to  escape,  devoured  them 
all  but  one  man  and  his  sister.  In  a  dream  it  was  revealed  to 
him  that  if  he  would  fledge  his  arrows  with  the  hair  of  his 
sister  and  shoot  at  the  heart  of  the  monster  he  would  conquer. 
He  obeyed,  and  the  wound  was  mortal,  and  the  serpent  rolled 
down  the  hill  into  the  lake,  where  he  vomited  up  all  the  people 
he  had  eaten.3 

All  animals  with  which  they  were  unacquainted  would  pro 
duce  superstitious  fear  among  the  Indians  when  seen  for  the 
first  time.  A  very  curious  illustration  of  this  is  told  by  Catlin. 
In  a  Minnitaree  village  a  great  sensation  was  produced  by  the 
appearance  (to  use  the  language  of  the  Indians)  of  "  a  small 
animal  not  far  differing  in  size  from  a  ground-squirrel,  but  with 


1  Yates  and  Moulton's  New  York,  Pt.  I,  notes,  pp.  9-10. 

2  Plate  in  Cusick's  Six  Nations;   I  Clark's  Onondaga,  143. 

3  Schoolcraft's  Iroquois,  6l. 


282  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

a  long,  round  tail."  This  unknown  animal  showed  himself 
slyly  about  a  chiefs  wigwam,  peeping  out  from  under  the  pots 
and  kettles.  They  looked  upon  it  as  great  medicine,  and  so 
sacred  no  one  dared  kill  it ;  but  hundreds  came  to  watch  and 
look  at  it.  After  councils  had  been  called  and  solemn  decrees 
issued  for  its  countenance  and  protection,  a  fur-trader  came 
among  them  and  pronounced  it  a  rat,  which  had  been  intro 
duced  by  whites.1  At  the  mouth  of  the  Q'Appelle  River,  an 
Indian,  in  June,  1858,  set  his  net  and  caught  a  large  fish  of  a 
kind  different  from  any  with  which  he  was  familiar.  He  imme 
diately  pronounced  it  to  be  a  manitou,  and,  carefully  restoring 
it  to  the  water  again,  at  once  sacrificed  five  valuable  dogs  to 
appease  the  anger  of  the  supposed  deity.2 

No  doubt  many  of  the  fabulous  animals  of  uncultured  peo 
ples  are  the  appearances  of  their  disordered  imaginations  in 
dreams.  An  Ojibway,  in  obedience  to  a  dream  which  recurred 
ten  successive  nights,  arose  on  the  eleventh  and  issued  forth 
with  his  magic  staff  to  the  side  of  a  stream,  whose  waters  he 
touched.  They  began  gradually  moving  beneath  the  influence 
until  a  violent  whirlpool  arose,  which  drew  into  its  coils  the  fish 
and  other  water-animals,  such  as  frogs,  toads,  lizards,  and  aquatic 
birds  and  insects,  which  passed  before  the  astonished  eyes  of 
the  enchanter.  At  length  he  stood  in  the  midst  of  the  com 
motion,  like  Goethe's  apprentice  to  the  magician,  and,  although 
a  strange  horror  crept  over  him,  he  insisted  that  the  king  of 
fishes  should  appear.  Forced  by  the  magic  spell,  he  came, 
and,  emerging  from  the  lake  in  the  shape  of  a  mighty  serpent, 
it  gave  him  a  powder  like  the  vermilion  with  which  the  In 
dians  paint  their  faces.  This  powder  cured  all  diseases,  and 
made  him  a  mighty  doctor  among  his  nation.  But  his  dis 
tinction  was  purchased  at  the  price  of  his  children,  who  were 
sacrificed  one  by  one  to  the  water-god  in  accordance  with  his 
promise.3  The  following  is  a  Mexican  tradition :  "  Certain 
fishermen  near  the  Lake  of  Mexico  took  a  monstrous  fowl  of 


1  I  Catlin's  111.,  194-95.  2  2  Hind's  Nar.,  134-35.  3  Kohl,  422-25. 


ANIMAL-WORSHIP.  283 

extraordinary  make  and  bigness.  Its  deformity  was  horrible, 
and  on  its  head  was  a  shining  plate  like  a  looking-glass,  from 
which  the  sun  reflected  a  dim  light.  Montezuma,  drawing 
near,  saw  within  it  a  representation  of  night  and  a  heaven  cov 
ered  with  stars.  Looking  a  second  time  in  the  glass,  he  saw 
an  army  of  men,  coming  from  the  east,  making  a  terrible 
slaughter  of  his  subjects.  When  the  magician  priests  came 
to  examine  and  had  tried  experiments,  it  escaped  with  aston 
ishing  flight."1  One  of  the  fabulous  animals  of  the  Mexicans 
was  Xochitonal,  a  great  crocodile,  who  guarded  the  path  to 
the  spirit-land.2 

Local  manitous  generally  assume  a  monstrous  form,  and 
might  be  called  unnatural  gods.  The  figure  of  a  large  bird 
is  the  most  common.  The  spirit  of  Rock  Island  was  a  white 
bird  with  wings  like  a  swan,  but  ten  times  larger.3  In  Cox's 
Recollections  of  Wabash  Valley  we  find  the  following  account 
of  one  of  these  fabulous  animals  of  the  Potawatomies.  "  There 
was  a  tradition  existing  among  the  Potawatomie  Indians  that 
there  was  a  monster  in  the  shape  of  a  serpent  in  Lake  Manitou. 
Their  superstitious  dread  of  this  lake  was  such  that  they  would 
not  hunt  upon  its  borders  nor  fish  in  its  waters,  for  fear  of  in 
curring  the  anger  of  the  evil  spirit  that  made  its  home  in  this 
little  woodland  lake.  .  .  .  When  the  government  officers  were 
about  erecting  the  Potawatomie  mills,  the  Indians  strenuously 
objected  to  the  erection  of  a  dam  at  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  lest 
its  accumulated  waters  might  disturb  and  overflow  the  sub 
terranean  chambers  of  the  serpent,  and  the  exasperated  demon 
rush  forth  from  his  watery  dominions  and  take  indiscriminate 
vengeance  on  all  those  who  resided  near  the  sacred  lake."  4 

Among  the  South  American  nations  these  unnatural  forms 
of  man  and  beast  are  represented  in  their  art.  Numerous  idols 
were  found  everywhere  with  the  form  of  man  and  animal  com- 


1  I  De  Soils,  Conq.,  144.  2  3  Bancroft,  537. 

3  Autobiography  of  Blackhawk,  70. 

*  Cox's  Recollections  of  Wabash  Valley,  136. 


284 


PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 


bined,  and  were  the  objects  of  a  degrading  worship  that  often 
descended  to  human  sacrifice.  A  scene  illustrative  of  this  is 
represented  in  Fig.  16,  which  is  taken  from  Zarate's  Peru. 


Fir,.  1 6. 


The  Araucanians  of  Chile  have  fabulous  creatures  called 
ulmenes,  which  are  the  genii  of  their  mythology.  They  are 
male  and  female,  and  attach  themselves  to  individuals  as  guar 
dian  spirits.1  Among  the  Brazilian  tribes  curious  fables  of 
animals  are  related,  from  which  we  can  readily  see  that  they 
ascribe  to  them  monstrous  forms  and  unnatural  deeds.  The 
tortoise  figures  extensively  in  races  and  other  athletic  sports. 
They  have  a  bird  of  evil  eye  which  kills  with  a  look.  The 
ground  under  its  nest  is  white  with  human  bones.  There  is  a 
myth  that  a  hunter  once  killed  one  of  these  and  cut  off  its  head 
without  the  eye  being  turned  upon  him.  He  killed  his  game 
thereafter  by  turning  the  evil  eye  upon  it.  His  wife,  not  dream 
ing  of  its  destructive  power,  however,  once  turned  it  toward 
her  husband  and  killed  him,  and  then  accidentally  turned  it 
toward  herself  and  died.  They  believe  in  the  existence  of 
an  enormous  water-serpent,  whose  track  marked  out  the  lakes 


2  Molina,  86. 


ANIMAL-  WORSHIP.  2  8  5 

and  channels.1  A  mythical  monster  called  the  Curupira  (prob 
ably  a  man-shaped  ape)  is  the  dread  of  the  timid.  These  fabu 
lous  animals  are  the  guardian  deities  of  the  forests,  and  go 
about  beating  on  the  trees  just  before  a  tempest  to  see  if  they 
are  strong  enough  to  withstand  it.2  Mr.  Tylor  mentions  a  tra 
dition  among  the  Brazilians  of  an  ape  which  had  been  found  to 
be  an  extinct  species.3  The  natives  living  near  the  river  Casa- 
nare  had  a  tradition  of  a  serpent  with  numerous  heads  which 
had  devoured  many  of  the  inhabitants.4  The  natives  living 
near  the  river  Huallaga  had  a  tradition  of  a  vulture-like  animal 
who  preyed  upon  wanderers.5  The  Peruvians  named  their 
sacred  Titicaca  from  titi,  a  cat,  and  caca,  a  rock.  They  have 
a  myth  that  on  the  rock  in  the  island  of  the  same  name  there 
lived  and  sat  in  ancient  times  a  cat  with  fire  shooting  from  its 
eyes.6 

Occasionally  a  myth  pretends  to  account  for  the  form  and 
color  of  different  animals.  The  two  following  myths  are  curi 
ous  illustrations  of  this.  The  red  fox  got  its  black  legs  by 
being  thrown  into  a  cauldron  where  the  food  was  cooking  for 
a  grand  feast,  to  which  he  was  invited  by  a  host  whom  he  had 
formerly  insulted.  He  got  out  with  his  legs  burnt.7  The 
mythical  hero  Manabozho  was  walking  along  the  banks,  and, 
seeing  a  flock  of  ducks  enjoying  themselves  on  the  blue  waters, 
he  called  them.  Some  favored  going  to  him,  some  not;  but  at 
last  they  all  trooped  after  him  with  many  pleasant  quackings 
and  entered  his  lodge.  Placing  himself  in  the  centre,  he 
ranged  the  ducks  in  a  circle  around  him.  He  had  a  sack 
around  his  neck.  "Now,"  said  he,  "you  must  all  shut  your 
eyes  tight  and  not  open  them  under  any  circumstances.  I  will 
take  my  Indian  flute  and  play  upon  it,  and  when  I  give  the  word 
you  may  open  your  eyes  and  commence  dancing."  The  ducks 
shut  their  eyes  and  waited,  all  impatient  for  the  dancing  to 

1  Smith's  Brazil,  559-60.  2  Ib.,  564. 

3  Researches,  314.  4  Ursua  and  Aguire's  Ex.  Int.,  10. 

s  Ib.,  45.  6  Markham's  Travels,  114. 

7  Kinzie's  Waubun,  368-70. 
19 


286  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

begin.  Presently  a  sound  was  heard  like  a  smothered  quack, 
but  the  ducks  did  not  dare  to  open  their  eyes.  Again  the 
sound  of  the  flute  would  be  interrupted  by  the  gurgling  cry  of 
"  quack."  There  was  one  duck  at  this  juncture  that  could  not 
resist  opening  one  eye,  when,  lo !  the  deity  was  seen  seizing 
each  duck  nearest  him,  throttling  it,  and  stuffing  it  into  the 
bag  on  his  shoulder.  Edging  a  little  out  of  the  circle,  it  cried, 
"  Open  your  eyes,"  and  flew.  Manabozho  grasped  her  back 
with  l}is  hand,  but  she  escaped  with  her  back  shaped  as  now, 
and  her  neck  unnaturally  stretched  forward.  The  same  plight 
came  upon  many  others  at  the  same  time.1 

1  Kinzie's  Waubun,  312-14. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

WORSHIP   OF   TREES   AND    PLANTS. 

Worship  of  trees — Their  supposed  vitality  explained  by  animism — Supposed 
descent  of  human  beings  from  trees — Worship  of  plants — Personality  ascribed 
to  them — Origin  of  plants  from  human  bodies — Those  having  medical  prop 
erties  supposed  to  be  endowed  with  supernatural  powers. 

THE  worship  of  trees  and  plants  is  found  in  America.  The 
vegetable  kingdom  shared  with  other  natural  objects  the  super 
stitious  belief  in  the  animation  of  all  nature  by  spirits.  One  of 
the  causes  that  probably  led  to  the  prevalence  of  the  super 
stition  as  to  trees  is  the  primitive  custom  of  burying  or  sus 
pending  the  dead  in  trees.  We  have  heretofore  noticed  this 
custom  among  many  of  the  tribes.  The  probabilities  are  that 
under  certain  conditions  they  have  all  practised  this  custom 
more  or  less.  In  nature-worship,  the  precipice,  waterfall,  or 
dangerous  locality  of  any  kind,  which  has  become  a  place  of 
Indian  devotion,  has  connected  with  it  a  story  of  being  haunted 
by  the  spirit  of  some  unfortunate  tribesman  who  has  lost  his 
life  there.  The  spirits  of  the  dead  remain  about  the  place 
where  death  has  overtaken  them,  or  where  the  body  or  any 
portion  of  it  is  placed.  Customs  such  as  that  of  the  Nicara- 
guans,  of  suspending  the  heads  of  sacrificed  captives  in  trees,1 
would  tend  to  induce  a  superstitious  fear  of  such  trees.  Some 
of  the  Northwestern  Indians  thought  that  those  who  died  a 
natural  death  would  be  compelled  to  dwell  among  the  branches 
of  tall  trees.2 

The  Ojibways  believed  that  trees  had  souls,  and  in  pagan 
times  they  seldom  cut  down  green  or  living  trees,  "  for  they 
thought  it  put  them  to  pain.  They  pretended  to  hear  the  wail- 

1  2  Bancroft,  746.  2  Barrett  Lenard's  Travels,  54. 

287 


288  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

ing  of  the  trees  when  they  suffered  in  this  way."  x  On  account 
of  these  noises,  real  or  imaginary,  trees  have  had  spirits  assigned 
them  and  worship  offered  to  them.  A  mountain-ash  in  the 
vicinity  of  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  which  made  a  noise,  had  offerings 
piled  up  around  it.2  If  a  tree  should  emit  from  its  hollow 
trunk  or  branches  a  sound  during  a  calm  state  of  the  atmos 
phere,  or  should  any  one  fancy  such  sounds,  the  tree  would  be 
at  once  reported,  and  soon  come  to  be  regarded  as  the  residence 
of  some  local  god.3  Mr.  Kohl  mentions  an  Ojibway  Indian 
who  had  chosen  a  tamarack-tree  for  his  protector  because 
he  fancied  he  heard  a  remarkable  rustling  in  its  branches.4 
This  was  ample  evidence  that  a  spirit  was  domiciled  in  the 
tree.  Mr.  Schoolcraft  mentions  a  hollow  tree  from  the  recesses 
of  which,  Indian  tradition  said,  there  issued  on  a  calm  day  a 
sound  like  the  voice  of  a  spirit  or  manitou.  It  resembled  the 
sounds  of  their  own  drum.  It  was  therefore  considered  as  the 
residence  of  some  powerful  spirit,  and  deemed  sacred.  To 
mark  their  regard  for  the  place,  they  began  to  deposit  at  its 
foot  boughs  and  twigs  of  the  same  species  of  tree  as  they 
passed  it  from  year  to  year  on  their  way  to  and  from  their 
hunting-grounds.5 

Roman  Pane  says  of  the  West  India  tribes  "  that  if  an  Indian 
going  through  a  wood  would  perceive  a  motion  in  the  trees 
which  he  thought  supernatural,  frightened  at  the  prodigy,  he 
would  address  himself  to  that  tree  which  shook  the  most. 
The  trees  generally  did  not  condescend  to  confabulate  with 
them,  but  ordered  them  to  go  to  a  boie,  or  priest,  who  would 
order  them  to  sacrifice  to  their  new  deity."  He  also  says,  "  The 
natives  of  the  Antilles  used  to  believe  that  certain  trees  sent 
for  sorcerers,  to  whom  they  gave  orders  how  to  shape  their 
trunks  into  idols,  and  then,  being  installed  in  temple  huts,  they 
received  prayer  and  inspired  the  priests  with  oracles." 


1  Jones's  Ojibways,  104.  a  Schoolcraft's  Oneota,  191. 

3  2  Schoolcraft,  Ind.,  224-25.  4  Kohl's  Kitchi-Gami,  59. 

s  Schoolcraft's  Thirty  Years,  99. 


WORSHIP  OF  TREES  AND  PLANTS.  289 

This  mysterious  spiritual  vitality  ascribed  to  trees  has  even 
led  to  a  belief  in  the  descent  of  the  human  race  from  trees. 
The  natives  about  Saginaw  had  a  tradition  of  a  boy  who  sprang 
from  a  tree  within  which  was  buried  one  of  their  tribe.  A 
descent  from  trees  can  be  traced  among  the  traditions  of  many 
tribes.  The  founders  of  the  Miztec  monarchy  descended  from 
two  majestic  trees  that  stood  in  a  gorge  of  the  mountains  of 
Apoala.1  The  Zapotecs  attributed  their  origin  to  trees,  and 
their  cypresses  and  palms  often  received  offerings  of  incense 
and  other  gifts.2  The  Caribs  had  a  gens  called  the  cabato- 
tree.3  The  Chiapanese  had  a  tradition  that  they  sprang  from 
the  roots  of  a  silk-cotton-tree.4 

In  the  pictography  of  the  Indians  the  trees  supposed  to  be 
inhabited  by  a  spirit  find  representation  in  anthropomorphic 
forms.  In  a  folk-tale  of  the  Ojibways  the  maiden  Leelinau, 
whenever  she  could  leave  her  father's  lodge,  would  fly  to  remote 
haunts  and  recesses  in  the  woods,  or  sit  in  lonely  reverie  upon 
some  high  promontory  of  rock  overlooking  the  lake.  In  such 
places  she  would  often,  with  her  face  turned  upward,  linger 
long  in  contemplation  of  the  air,  as  if  she  were  invoking  her 
guardian  spirit  and  beseeching  him  to  lighten  her  sadness. 
But,  amid  all  the  leafy  haunts,  none  drew  her  steps  toward  it  so 
often  as  a  forest  of  pines  on  the  open  shore,  called  Manitowok, 
or  the  Sacred  Wood.  It  was  one  of  those  hallowed  places 
which  are  the  resort  of  the  little  wild  men  of  the  woods  and  of 
the  turtle-spirits,  or  fairies,  which  delight  in  romantic  scenes. 
Owing  to  this  circumstance,  its  green  retirement  was  seldom 
visited  by  Indians,  who  feared  to  fall  under  the  influence  of  its 
.mischievous  inhabitants;  and  whenever  they  were  compelled 
by  stress  of  weather  to  make  a  landing  on  this  part  of  the  coast, 
they  never  failed  to  leave  an  offering  of  tobacco,  or  some  other 
token,  to  show  that  they  desired  to  stand  well  with  the  pro 
prietors  of  the  fairy-ground. 


1  5  Bancroft,  527.  2  3  ih.,  459. 

3  i  Rafinesque,  195.  45  Bancroft,  605. 


290  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

It  had  been  her  custom  to  pass  many  of  her  hours  in  her 
favorite  place  of  retirement,  under  a  broad-topped  young  pine, 
whose  leaves  whispered  in  every  wind  that  blew,  but  most  of 
all  in  that  gentle  murmur  of  the  air  at  the  evening  hour,  dear 
to  lovers,  when  the  twilight  steals  on.  Thither  she  now  re 
paired,  and,  while  reclining  pensively  against  the  young  pine- 
tree,  she  fancied  that  she  heard  a  voice  addressing  her.  At 
first  it  was  scarcely  more  than  a  sigh ;  presently  it  grew  more 
clear,  and  she  heard  it  distinctly  whisper,  "  Maiden!  think  me  not 
a  tree,  but  thine  own  dear  lover,  fond  to  be  with  thee  in  my  tall 
and  blooming  strength,  with  the  bright  green  nodding  plume 
that  waves  above  thee.  Thou  art  leaning  on  my  breast,  Lee- 
linau  ;  lean  forever  there,  and  be  at  peace.  Fly  from  men  who 
are  false  and  cruel,  and  quit  the  tumult  of  their  dusty  strife  for 
this  quiet,  lonely  shade.  Over  thee  I  my  arms  will  fling,  fairer 
than  the  lodge's  roof.  I  will  breathe  a  perfume  like  that  of 
flowers  over  thy  happy  evening  rest.  In  my  bark  canoe  I'll 
waft  thee  o'er  the  waters  of  the  sky-blue  lake.  I  will  deck  the 
folds  of  thy  mantle  with  the  sun's  last  rays.  Come,  and  on  the 
mountain  free,  rove,  a  fairy  bright,  with  me !"  Leelinau  drank 
in  with  eager  ear  these  magical  words.  Her  heart  was  fixed. 
No  warrior's  son  should  clasp  her  hand.  She  wasted  away 
until  she  disappeared  from  her  father's  lodge  forever ;  but  her 
figure  is  frequently  seen,  accompanied  by  her  fairy  lover,  glid 
ing  through  the  forest  of  young  pines.  Such  stories  as  these 
are  frequent  in  Indian  lodge-lore,  and  represent  that  phase  of 
their  imagination  which  gives  a  spiritual  life  and  form  to  plants 
and  trees. 

The  Ojibways  considered  curious  trees  as  gods.1  A  con 
verted  Ojibway  confessed  that  at  one  time,  when  in  danger  of 
perishing  in  the  woods  with  cold,  he  prayed  to  the  trees  stand 
ing  around  him  to  save  him,  but  the  trees  stood  still  and  made 
no  effort  in  his  behalf.  He  was  glad  that  he  had  been  brought 
to  know  the  vanity  of  such  things.2  On  Grand  River  stood  a 

'  Jones's  Ojibways,  85.  2  Ib.,  88. 


WORSHIP   OF  TREES  AND  PLANTS.  291 

lofty  pine-tree  with  a  large,  spreading,  closely-matted  top.  This 
tree  was  taller  than  any  other  in  view,  and  made  a  great  god 
for  one  of  their  Indians,  who  with  his  family  made  periodical 
visits  to  it,  with  prayer  and  sacrifice.  The  best  of  his  game 
was  offered  at  the  foot  of  this  tree,  and  it  was  boiled  for  the 
convenience  of  this  god.1 

Many  trees  were  worshipped  by  the  Dacotahs,  and  among 
them  the  medicine-wood,  which  gets  its  name  from  a  super 
stition  that  it  was  a  genius  to  protect  or  punish  them  according 
to  their  merits  or  demerits.2  They  hung  small  red  capotes 
upon  trees  as  a  sacrifice.3  Mr.  Pike,  speaking  of  an  immense 
plane-tree  seen  by  him,  says,  "  This  plane,  which  is  perhaps  the 
colossus  of  the  whole  vegetable  kingdom,  the  Indians  adored 
as  a  manitou."4 

Charlevoix  mentions  an  instance  of  tree-worship.  He  says, 
"  Formerly  the  Indians  in  the  neighborhood  of  Acadia  had  in 
their  country,  near  the  sea-shore,  a  tree  extremely  ancient,  of 
which  they  relate  many  wonders  and  which  was  always  laden 
with  offerings.  After  the  sea  had  laid  open  its  whole  root,  it 
still  supported  itself  a  long  time  almost  in  the  air  against  the 
violence  of  the  winds  and  waves,  which  confirmed  those  In 
dians  in  the  notion  that  this  tree  must  be  the  abode  of  some 
powerful  spirit,  nor  was  its  fall  even  capable  of  undeceiving 
them,  so  that  as  long  as  the  smallest  part  of  its  branches  ap 
peared  above  the  water,  they  paid  it  the  same  honors  as  whilst 
it  stood."5 

The  natives  of  Carolina,  says  Lawson,  held  the  yaupon,  or 
tea-plant,  in  veneration  above  all  plants  they  were  acquainted 
with,  and  they  say  the  discovery  thereof  was  by  an  infirm  In 
dian  that  labored  under  the  burden  of  many  rugged  distempers 
and  could  not  be  cured  by  all  their  doctors.  One  day  he  fell 
asleep  and  dreamed  that  if  he  took  a  decoction  of  the  tree  that 


1  Jones's  Ojibways,  254.  2  6  Wise.  Hist.  Coll.,  205. 

3  Pike's  Expedition,  31.  *  Ib.,  396. 

s  2  Charlevoix's  Voyage,  149. 


292  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

grew  at  his  head  he  would  be  cured.  Upon  this  he  awoke,  and 
saw  the  yaupon,  or  cassena-tree,  which  was  not  there  when  he 
fell  asleep.  He  followed  the  direction  of  his  dream,  and  became 
perfectly  well  in  a  short  time.1  On  the  banks  of  the  river 
Chata  Uche  stood  a  wild  fig-tree,  which  the  Indians  had  conse 
crated  as  an  object  of  worship.  The  Creeks  had  a  sacred  tree 
on  which  they  hung  strips  of  buffalo  flesh.2 

The  cult  existed  in  Mexico  and  the  Central  American  states. 
The  Mayas  recognized  divinities  in  trees.3  A  gigantic  ancient 
cypress  in  Mexico  had  offerings  attached  to  its  boughs,  of 
teeth  and  locks  of  hair  in  great  numbers.  The  Tepanecs  wor 
shipped  and  offered  sacrifice  to  trees.4  The  ticara  or  wild  cala 
bash-tree  was  an  object  of  religious  veneration  to  the  Guate 
malans.5  Darwin  saw  a  tree  near  Siena  de  la  Ventana  which 
the  Indians  reverenced  as  the  altar  of  Walleechu.  Offerings  of 
cigars,  bread,  and  meat  were  suspended  upon  it  by  threads. 
There  was  a  little  hole  to  pour  libations  in.  The  tree  was  sur 
rounded  by  bleached  bones  of  horses  that  had  been  sacrificed. 
The  tree  was  a  landmark  in  a  dangerous  passage.6  The  Chib- 
chas  had  a  tree  called  huaycan  (holy  wood).  It  is  a  large  tree, 
and  its  wood  does  not  rot  under  water.  According  to  their 
traditions,  the  earth  was  supported  by  pillars  of  this  wood. 
The  Peruvians  used  this  wood  for  making  their  idols.7  Tree- 
worship  was  found  among  the  Brazilian  tribes.  The  Calcha- 
quis  of  Brazil  worshipped  certain  trees,  which  were  trimmed 
with  feathers.8  The  Indians  frequently  adorn  them  with  feath 
ers.  The  same  is  true  of  many  tribes  inhabiting  those  parts  of 
Brazil  in  which  trees  obtain  a  magnitude  that  inspires  them 
with  veneration. 

A  western  tribe  of  North  America,  called  the  Achonawi, 
ascribed  a  fabulous  origin  to  trees,  for  they  thought  that  the 
feathers  of  eagles,  when  they  dropped  and  stuck  in  the  earth, 

1  Lawson's  N.  C.,  359-60.  2  Lubbock,  Origin,  196. 

3  2  Bancroft,  688.  *  2  ib.,  330. 

s  Boyle's  Camp  Notes,  49.  6  Darwin's  Nat.  Voyage,  68-69. 

7  Bollaert,  13.  8  3  Southey,  395. 


WORSHIP   OF  TREES  AND  PLANTS.  293 

grew  tall  trees.  They  thought  all  trees  were  mysterious,  be 
cause  fire  proceeded  from  their  wood  when  rubbed.1 

The  transmigration  and  presence  of  spirits  in  plants  explain 
the  worship  of  this  subdivision  of  the  vegetable  kingdom. 
Many  traditions  illustrate  this  subject.  The  Brazilians  have  a 
mythological  character  called  Mani :  she  was  a  child  who  died 
and  was  buried  in  the  house  of  her  mother.  Soon  a  plant 
sprang  out  of  the  grave,  which  grew,  flourished,  and  bore  fruit. 
This  plant  was  the  mandioca,  named  from  mani,  and  oca 
(house).  They  thought  they  saw  the  body  of  Mani  in  the 
root.2  The  Ojibways  have  a  legend  in  which  one  of  their  num 
ber,  in  a  dreamy  state,  saw  a  handsome  young  man  dressed  in 
green  robes  with  green  plumes  on  his  head,  who  returned 
thrice  and  wrestled  with  him.  In  the  last  struggle  the  visiting 
youth  was  thrown  and  killed,  and  his  body  was  buried.  The 
Indian  watched  the  grave  and  kept  it  clean,  not  letting  even 
the  wild  flower  grow  there.  Soon  he  saw  the  green  plumes 
coming  out  of  the  ground,  at  first  in  spiral  points,  and  then 
rising  in  green  stalks,  and  soon  silken  fringes  and  yellow  tassels 
appeared.  The  majestic  plant  waved  its  taper  leaves  and  dis 
played  its  bright  plumes.  Its  name  was  Mondamin,  the  Indian 
corn.3 

Among  the  Virginia  tribes  the  red  clover  was  thought  to 
have  sprung  from  and  be  colored  by  the  blood  of  the  red  men 
slain  in  battle.  The  pantheistic  tendency  of  the  transmigration 
theory  is  shown  in  many  of  the  agricultural  ceremonies  of  the 
tribes.  One  of  these  illustrates  the  far-reaching  extent  of  their 
philosophy.  When  a  child's  umbilical  cord  was  cut,  it  was 
over  an  ear  of  corn,  which  was  immediately  sown  and  culti 
vated  as  a  sacred  thing.  The  perpetuity  of  this  spiritual  life 
and  force,  and  its  never-ending  circle  of  existence,  is  the  secret 
of  this  primitive  superstition. 

The  Pawnees  sacrificed  a  female  slave  at  their  agricultural 

1  3  Ethnology  of  Powell  Exp.,  273,  287.  2  Smith's  Brazil,  586. 

3  2  Schoolcraft,  231-32. 


294  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

ceremonies,  and,  while  the  flesh  was  warm,  stripped  it  from  the 
bones  in  small  pieces,  which  were  put  into  a  basket  and  carried 
to  the  corn-field,  where  a  drop  of  blood  was  squeezed  upon  the 
grains  of  corn  that  were  deposited  in  the  ground.1 

A  personality  was  ascribed  to  plants.  Mr.  Kohl  tells  a  very 
interesting  traditionary  story.  One  year  there  was  an  extraor 
dinary  abundance  of  corn,  and  they  let  it  lie  about  and  rot, 
and  the  children  fought  each  other  with  the  stalks  and  then 
threw  them  in  the  mud.  Very  soon  want  overtook  them,  and 
a  famine  threatened  them,  and  in  their  distress  one  of  the  tribe, 
who  had  taken  no  part  in  the  indignities  offered  the  corn,  had  a 
communication  with  the  spirit  of  the  corn,  who  consented  to 
make  a  revelation  to  him.  As  he  was  walking  alone  he  came 
to  a  meadow,  and  in  its  centre  a  mound,  on  which  stood  a  birch- 
bark  lodge,  from  which  cries  and  groans  issued.  On  entering, 
he  found  a  poor  dried-up  manikin,  who  complained  of  his 
wretched  condition,  due  to  the  ill-treatment  of  the  Indians. 
He  hurried  to  his  tribe  and  told  them,  and  they  sacrificed  to 
the  spirit  of  the  corn,  which  was  appeased,  and  returned  them 
good  crops  thereafter.2 

The  Miamis  have  a  tradition  similar  to  this,  except  that  the 
corn-spirit  was  angry  in  their  case  because  they  had  thrown 
corn-cobs  at  each  other  in  play.  The  corn-spirit  pretended  to 
have  suffered  serious  injury  in  his  body  on  account  of  this 
cruel  sport.3 

The  Iroquois  acknowledged  the  existence  of  spirits  in  trees 
and  plants,  and  had  three  mythological  characters,  who  were 
sisters,  the  spirits  of  the  maize,  of  the  bean,  and  of  the  squash. 
The  Iroquois  say  that  the  spirit  of  corn,  the  spirit  of  beans, 
and  the  spirit  of  squashes  are  supposed  to  have  the  forms  of 
beautiful  females. 

Many  tribes  when  they  gathered  herbs  sacrificed  to  the  spirit 
by  leaving  some  in  the  place  left  vacant.4 


1  5  Schoolcraft,  78.  2  Kohl's  Kitchi-Gami,  266-68. 

3  5  Schoolcraft,  195.  «  Harmon's  Journal,  374. 


WORSHIP   OF  TREES  AND  PLANTS.  295 

Mr.  Rafinesque  has,  as  is  his  custom,  put  one  of  his  large 
names  on  the  plant  branch  of  mythology,  and  called  it  Phyto- 
morphy.  Among  the  most  prominent  of  the  plants  worshipped 
in  the  Antilles  he  mentions  mushrooms,  pines,  opuntias,  zapos, 
and  zeybas.1  Among  the  Virginia  tribes  the  mysterious  growth 
of  toadstools  was  ascribed  to  supernatural  agency,  and  they 
became  objects  of  worship.  The  divinities  supposed  to  reside 
in  them  were  painted  on  the  outside. 

Among  savage  peoples,  those  plants  that  produce  great 
nervous  excitement,  or  a  lethargic  state,  are  supposed  to  con 
tain  a  supernatural  being.  In  Peru,  tobacco  has  been  called 
the  sacred  herb,  and  throughout  all  America  it  has  been  looked 
upon  with  reverence.  In  Peru,  coca  is  another  plant  which 
they  look  upon  with  superstitious  veneration.  It  has  an  in 
vigorating  effect.  It  is  pretended  that  the  use  of  the  coca — 
that  herb  so  famous  in  the  histories  of  Peru — adds  much  to  the 
strength  of  the  Indians.  Others  affirm  that  they  use  it  as  a 
charm.  When,  for  instance,  the  mine  of  ore  is  too  hard,  they 
throw  upon  it  a  handful  of  that  herb  chewed,  and  immediately 
get  out  the  ore  with  more  ease  and  in  a  greater  quantity. 
Fishermen  also  put  some  of  that  herb,  chewed,  to  their  hook 
when  they  can  take  no  fish,  and  they  are  said  to  have  better 
success  thereafter.2  It  sustained  an  important  part  in  the  re 
ligion  of  the  Incas.  In  all  ceremonies,  whether  religious  or 
warlike,  it  was  introduced  for  producing  smoke  at  the  great 
offerings,  or  as  the  sacrifice  itself.  During  divine  worship  the 
priests  chewed  coca-leaves,  and  unless  they  were  supplied  with 
them  it  was  believed  that  the  favor  of  the  gods  could  not  be 
propitiated.  It  was  also  deemed  necessary  that  the  supplicator 
should  approach  the  priests  with  coca  in  his  mouth.  It  was 
believed  that  any  business  undertaken  without  the  benediction 
of  coca-leaves  could  not  prosper,  and  to  the  shrub  itself  wor 
ship  was  rendered.  During  an  interval  of  more  than  three 
hundred  years  Christianity  has  not  been  able  to  subdue  the 

1  2  Rafinesque,  208.  2  Frezier's  Voyage,  269. 


296  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

deep-rooted  idolatry,  for  everywhere  we  find  traces  of  belief  in 
the  mysterious  power  of  this  plant.  The  excavators  in  the 
mines  of  Cerro  de  Pasco  throw  masticated  coca  on  hard  veins 
of  metal,  in  the  belief  that  it  softens  the  ore  and  renders  it  more 
easy  to  work.  The  origin  of  this  custom  is  easily  explained 
when  it  is  recollected  that  in  the  time  of  the  Incas  it  was 
believed  that  the  coyas,  or  the  deities  of  metals,  rendered  the 
mountains  impenetrable  if  they  were  not  propitiated  by  the 
odor  of  coca.  The  Indians,  even  at  the  present  time,  put  coca- 
leaves  into  the  mouths  of  dead  persons  to  secure  to  them  a 
favorable  reception  on  their  entrance  into  another  world  ;  and 
when  a  Peruvian  Indian,  on  a  journey,  falls  in  with  a  mummy, 
he,  with  timid  reverence,  presents  to  it  some  coca-leaves  as  his 
pious  offering.1 

The  following  religious  ceremony  to  the  Irish  potato,  which 
was  first  discovered  in  Peru,  shows  the  regard  entertained  for 
it.  Cieza,  describing  the  ceremony,  says,  "About  noon  they 
began  to  sound  drums.  When  the  caciques  were  seated  in  the 
plaza,  a  boy,  richly  dressed,  went  up  to  each  cacique.  On  the 
left  hand  of  each  boy  walked  a  girl  beautifully  dressed.  From 
their  shoulders  a  lion-skin  hung  down.  Behind  them  came 
many  women  as  attendants ;  then  came  six  .Indian  laborers, 
each  with  a  plough  on  his  shoulders.  Then  followed  six  others 
with  bags  of  potatoes.  When  they  were  near  the  chiefs,  the 
ploughs  and  potatoes  were  put  on  the  ground,  and  a  dance 
performed  around  them.  Then  a  year-old  lamb,  all  of  one 
color,  was  brought  and  thrown  on  the  ground,  and  its  bowels 
torn  out  and  given  to  the  sorcerer,  and  the  blood  was  poured 
quickly  among  the  potatoes."2 

In  Oajaca,  priests  devoted  themselves  to  the  maize-god.  At 
harvest-time,  a  procession  ceremonially  visited  the  corn-fields 
and  selected  the  fairest  and  best-filled  ear.  This  they  bore  to 
the  village,  placed  it  on  an  altar  decked  with  flowers,  sang  and 
danced  before  it,  wrapped  it  in  a  white  cloth,  then,  with  renewed 

t 
1  Tschudi's  Travels  in  Peru,  317,  seq.  a  Cieza,  412-13. 


WORSHIP   OF  TREES  AND  PLANTS.  297 

procession  and  solemn  rites,  the  magic  ear  was  buried  in  the 
midst  of  the  corn-fields  in  a  a  small  hole  lined  with  stones.  The 
next  year  this  was  dug  up,  and  its  decayed  remains  distributed 
to  the  populace  as  talismans  against  all  kinds  of  evil.1 

Among  the  Chibchas,  plants  that  affected  the  system  were 
objects  of  superstitious  reverence :  the  coca  was  used  as  an  in 
spiring  agent  by  the  priests,  and  the  people  chewed  and  smoked 
tobacco  to  produce  the  power  of  divination.2 

The  Americans  have  used  plants  in  their  totemic  system, 
although  these  cases  are  rare.  The  Pueblos  have  a  gens  called 
the  tobacco-plant,  and  also  one  called  the  red  grass  race.  The 
Brazilian  Indians  have  the  mandioca  race,  and  among  the  Ara- 
waks  individuals  are  named  tobacco,  tobacco-leaf,  and  tobacco- 
flower.  One  of  the  Peruvian  Incas  was  called  after  the  Peru 
vian  name  of  the  tobacco-plant.  The  Salish,  Nisquallis,  and 
Yokimas  have  traditions  in  which  edible  roots  have  descended 
from  human  ancestors,3  which  is  explicable,  of  course,  by  their 
system  of  transmigration.  The  Potawatomies  had  five  primi 
tive  men,  one  of  whom  was  named  smoking-weed,  another 
pumpkin,  another  melon,  another  bean,  and  the  other  yellow 
maize.4  The  first  four  were  rejected  lovers,  but  the  last  was 
accepted  by  the  primitive  female  from  whom  the  Potawatomies 
were  descended.5  The  Ojibways  had  many  roots  of  virtue  in 
disease,  over  which  spirits  were  supposed  to  preside,  and  they 
were  also  fetiches,  which  they  carried  in  time  of  war.6 

The  inhabitants  of  the  province  of  Culhuacan  have  a  great 
veneration  for  the  hidden  virtues  of  poisonous  plants,  and  be 
lieve  if  they  crush  or  destroy  one  some  harm  will  happen  to 
them.  It  is  a  common  custom  to  hang  a  small  bag  containing 
poisonous  herbs  around  the  neck  of  a  child,  as  a  talisman 
against  diseases  or  attacks  from  wild  beasts.7 

Sanchoniathon,  in  his  historic  fragment,  thinks  the  order  of 

1  2  Bancroft,  350.  2  I  Spencer,  Soc.,  377-78. 

3  i  ib.,  383-84.  4  Lanman's  Haw-Hoo-Noo,  242. 

s  i  Schoolcraft,  320.  6  Copway,  149. 

7  i  Bancroft,  587-88. 


298  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

religious  development  shows  that  plants  first  received  worship, 
next  the  sun,  then  man.  Although  the  evidence  we  now  have 
does  not  confirm  his  assertion,  yet  the  worship  of  plants  is  per 
haps  synchronous  with  that  of  many  other  natural  objects,  ani 
mate  and  inanimate.  It  did  not  prevail  to  any  extent  until 
some  medical  knowledge  had  been  acquired.  Most  of  the 
plants  for  which  the  Indians  had  superstitious  feeling  were  those 
with  medical  qualities.  Many  of  their  healing  plants  were  held 
in  religious  veneration,  such  as  snake-root  (a  sure  remedy 
for  the  bite  of  rattlesnakes),  sassafras,  colt's-foot,  ladyslipper, 
liverwort,  milk-weed,  white  pond-lily  (the  origin  of  which  is 
told  in  a  beautiful  myth  hereafter),  also  lobelia,  winter-green, 
butternut,  slippery  elm,  hemlock,  sumach,  wild  cherry,  and 
especially  the  wild  parsnip,  a  deadly  poison.  Many  of  these 
were  kept  in  their  medicine-bags  as  fetiches ;  but  this  supersti 
tion  has  arisen  from  their  medicinal  use.  Many  plants  were 
supposed  to  possess  the  power  of  bewitching  them  and  of  per 
forming  extraordinary  cures  and  of  charming  the  pretty  Indian 
girls.1  They  had  a  mixture  called  the  hunter's  medicine,  which 
they  would  place  in  the  track  of  an  animal,  and  they  had  faith 
to  believe  that  the  animal  would  appear  to  them,  influenced 
by  the  charm,  even  though  two  or  three  days'  journey  off.  If 
put  in  their  gun-barrel,  the  first  shot  would  be  sure  to  hit.  The 
warriors  also  had  an  herb  mixture  which  makes  their  bodies 
invulnerable.  A  love-powder  brings  into  complete  subjection 
to  their  wishes  any  of  the  opposite  sex.2 

The  Creeks  had  seven  sacred  plants,  including  the  yaupon 
and  blue  flag,  which  had  intoxicating  and  narcotic  effects. 
Among  the  Mexicans  the  snake  plant  was  sacred,  and  among 
the  Californians  the  chucuaco.3 

The  seneka  and  convolvulus  of  the  Carolinas  grow  wherever 
there  are  rattlesnakes.  The  Indians  say  that  a  great  spirit, 
taking  compassion  on  the  bare-legged  warriors  of  the  red  skin, 
sowed  those  salutary  plants,  which  are  a  remedy  for  their  bite, 

1  Copway,  88.  a  Jones's  Ojibways,  153-55.  3  Brinton's  Myths,  292. 


WORSHIP   OF  TREES  AND  PLANTS. 


299 


FIG.  17. 


in  spite  of  the  remonstrances  of  the  souls  of  the  serpents.  By 
rubbing  themselves  with  the  convolvulus  they  can  handle  these 
reptiles  with  impunity.1  Athaensic  planted  the  flea-bane  in  the 
islands  of  Lake  Erie.  If  a  warrior  looked  at  that  herb  he  was 
seized  with  a  fever,  and  if  he  touched  it  a  subtle  fire  ran  upon 
his  skin.  The  natives  regarded  it 
with  superstitious  fear.  The  Osages 
had  an  annual  religious  ceremony  in 
which  freshly-cut  grass  placed  in 
bunches  forming  a  magic  circle  re 
ceived  the  worship  of  the  men  of 
the  tribe.2 

The  buffalo  grass  of  the  Ojibways 
had  magic  properties;  it  preserved 
them  in  battle ;  they  rubbed  their 
bodies  with  a  decoction  of  it.  They 
carried  the  plant  in  their  medicine- 
bags. 

The  god  of  the  grass,  represented 
in  Fig.  17,  was  said  to  make  them  crazy.  The  figure  suggests 
its  anthropomorphic  character.  The  manitou  plant  was  ven 
erated  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  distant  provinces  of  Mexico,3 
and  received  its  name  from  its  supposed  supernatural  charac 
ter.  Bonpland  mentions  the  same  worship  by  the  Indians  of 
Toluca.4 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  vegetable  kingdom  shared  in 
the  worship  of  all  of  the  American  tribes,  savage  and  civil 
ized.  Trees  and  those  plants  having  medical  properties  ob 
tained  most  of  their  worship.  The  cause  of  their  being  held  in 
veneration  is  found  in  their  belief  that  they  were  animated  by 
spirits. 


1  I  Chateaubriand,  180. 
3  2  Lyon's  Mexico,  123. 


2  3  Schoolcraft,  491. 
4  Plantes  Equinox.,  123. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

WORSHIP   AT    HAUNTED    LOCALITIES. 

The  worship  of  remarkable  natural  objects  —  Worship  of  mountains  and  dangerous 
places  —  Their  supposed  frequentation  by  spirits  —  Worship  of  volcanoes  —  Echoes 
and  other  noises  supposed  to  be  the  voices  of  spirits  —  Traditions  of  descents  of 
tribes  from  mountains—  Metamorphosis  —  Worship  of  islands  —  Traditions  of  the 
origin  of  islands  —  Origin  of  the  belief  that  the  world  was  supported  on  the  backs 
of  animals  —  Worship  of  springs  and  fountains  —  Traditionary  tribal  descents 
from  them  —  Their  healing  properties  supernatural  —  Worship  of  rivers  and  lakes 
—  Places  of  refuge. 

THE  worship  of  natural  objects,  such  as  mountains,  rocky 
defiles,  valleys,  streams,  or  other  places  in  nature  that  were 
in  any  way  remarkable,  prevailed  among  all  the  American 
tribes  :  they  were  thought  to  be  haunted  by  spirits.  Among 
all  the  tribes  any  remarkable  features  in  natural  scenery  or 
dangerous  places  became  objects  of  superstitious  dread  and 
veneration  because  they  were  supposed  to  be  abodes  of  gods. 
In  former  days,  long  before  the  sublime  and  stupendous  Falls 
of  Niagara  became  a  place  of  fashionable  resort,  the  Red  men 
would  draw  near  to  this  awful  cataract  with  timid  steps,  invok 
ing  most  solemnly  the  mighty  spirit  which  they  imagined  must 
certainly  reside  there.  When  journeys  by  water  were  under 
taken,  sacrifices  would  be  offered  to  the  lake  or  river  for  a  safe 
voyage.1  The  Sauks  and  Foxes  rarely  passed  any  extraordinary 
cave,  rock,  hill,  or  other  object  without  leaving  behind  them 
some  tobacco  for  the  use  of  the  spirit  which  they  supposed 
lived  there.2  The  Southern  nations  on  the  Mississippi  River 
believed  everything  in  nature  had  a  spirit  :  one  presided  over 
the  air.  They  invoked  the  rivers,  floods,  and  dreadful  cascades. 


Jones's  Ojibways,  96.  »  Drake's  Life  of  Blackhawk,  39. 

300 


WORSHIP  AT  HAUNTED  LOCALITIES.        301 

If  they  met  with  any  torrent,  they  threw  to  it  beaver-skins, 
tobacco,  and  other  offerings.1  The  Quiches  had  a  multitude 
of  genii,  who  presided  over  the  objects  of  nature.  The  places 
where  they  most  loved  to  linger  were  dark,  quiet  spots  in 
grottos,  or  at  the  foot  of  some  steep  precipice,  or  on  the  top 
of  a  mountain,  or  at  some  spring;  and  here  the  simple  native 
came  to  offer  his  sacrifice.2  Among  the  tribes  of  British 
America,  rivers  and  mountains  were  supposed  to  be  inhabited 
by  spirits,  says  Mr.  Harmon,  and  for  this  reason  these  objects 
were  adored.  The  Chibchas  of  Bogota  worshipped  lakes,  rivers, 
rocks,  and  hills,  not  because  they  regarded  these  objects  as 
gods,  but  because  some  spirit  was  thought  to  be  present  at 
these  places.  Each  man  had  such  a  place  for  his  worship  and 
offerings.3  In  the  city  of  Cuzco  there  were  four  hundred  sacred 
places,  such  as  springs,  fountains,  and  wells.4  Throughout  Peru, 
such  places  as  springs,  fountains,  valleys,  and  hills  were  made 
objects  of  worship.5  It  was  their  custom,  says  Molina,  when  any 
natural  object  excelled  its  kind,  to  worship  it.  Arriaga  says  they 
made  images  of  their  mountains  and  worshipped  them.  He 
mentions  their  worship  of  the  Snow  Mountains.  If  a  hill  was 
so  steep  and  inaccessible  that  its  top  could  not  be  reached,  the 
sacrifice  offered  to  the  hill  was  hurled  to  the  top  with  a  sling.6 
Snails  were  offered  as  sacrifices  to  the  mountains. 

Impassable  or  dangerous  places  had  small  temples  erected 
to  the  spirit  haunting  the  place,  and  in  these  temples  offerings 
were  made.  Often  the  temples  were  so  inaccessible  that  offer 
ings  were  projected  into  them  by  various  means.  Fig.  18  is 
one  of  these  rock  temples.  In  Rivero  and  Tschudi's  folio 
volume  of  plates,  illustrations  of  these  temples  or  fanes  to 
the  spirits  of  precipices  are  found.  Mr.  Squier  is  of  opinion 
that  these  small  round  structures,  perched  like  toy-houses  on 
some  of  the  rocks  in  the  remarkable  passes  of  the  Andes, 


1  3  Picart,  84.  2  3  Bancroft,  481. 

3  P.  Simon,  249.  4  Ondegardo,  Narr.,  154. 

5  Ib.,  155.  6  Molina,  Narr.,  55. 

20 


302  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

near    Ollantaytambo,    were    shrines    erected   to   the   spirit   of 
the  place  to  protect  it  from  land-slides.1 

Isolated  rocks  were  held  in 
great  veneration  by  the  ancient 
Peruvians,  and  had  offerings 
made  to  them  or  the  spirit  sup 
posed  to  dwell  in  them.  Mr. 
Squier  saw  hundreds  of  such 
rocks  on  the  highways  of  the 
sierra,  to  which  the  Indians 
took  off  their  hats,  and  offer 
ings  of  some  kind  were  left  generally.2 

The  popular  religion  of  the  Andean  people  consisted  in  the 
belief  that  all  objects  in  nature  had  a  soul  which  presided 
over  them,  and  to  which  men  might  pray  for  help.  This 
worship  of  nature  was  combined  with  worship  of  ancestors, 
the  nature-gods  being  called  Huaca,  and  the  ancestral  deities 
Pacamia.3 

All  sounds  that  issued  from  caverns  were  thought  to  be  pro 
duced  by  their  spiritual  inhabitants.  The  Sonora  Indians  say 
that  departed  souls  dwell  among  the  caves  and  nooks  of  their 
cliffs,  and  that  echoes  often  heard  there  are  their  voices.4  The 
caverns  or  hollow  rocks  in  the  mountains  which  surround 
Burlington  Bay  were  once  noted  as  being  the  abodes  of  the 
gods.  When  explosions  were  heard,  caused  by  the  bursting 
of  sulphurous  gas  from  the  rocks  around  the  head-waters  of 
Lake  Ontario,  the  superstitious  Indians  attributed  them  to  the 
breathing  of  the  manitous. 

Mountains  have  always  been  favorite  places  of  worship. 
The  Choles  of  Itza  kept  a  perpetual  fire  burning  on  the  largest 
of  their  mountains.  The  Mexicans  had  many  great  peaks 
which  were  hedged  about  by  a  divinity.5  In  the  Yosemite 


1  Squier's  Peru,  509-10.  a  Ib.,  520. 

3  Markham's  Introduction  to  Narratives,  II,  12. 

*  Alger's  Doctrine,  208.  5  3  Bancroft,  122-23. 


WORSHIP  AT  HAUNTED  LOCALITIES. 


303 


country  one  of  the  lofty  peaks  was  named  after  a  mythical 
heroine, — the  beautiful  Tisayac.  Their  once  famous  chief,  Toto- 
komila,  when  hunting,  met  a  spirit  maid,  the  guardian  angel  of 
the  locality.  A  passionate  love  arose  in  his  heart,  but  when  he 
reached  forth  his  hand  for  hers  she  was  lifted  above  his  sight. 
Totokomila  wandered  here  and  there  seeking  that  wonderful 
vision  that  had  made  all  else  worthless  in  his  sight.  All  was 
allowed  to  go  to  waste  by  him,  and  the  fair  valley  was  desolate, 
and  even  the  waters  were  dried  up.  But  Tisayac  visited  her 
valley  again.  Lighting  upon  the  dome,  the  granite  was  riven 
beneath  her  feet,  and  a  beautiful  lake  was  formed  between  the 
cloven  walls,  and  a  river  issued  to  feed  the  valley  forever. 
Then  sang  the  birds  as  of  old,  and  the  odors  of  flowers  rose 
like  a  pleasant  incense,  and  the  trees  put  forth  their  buds. 
Tisayac  went  away,  but  the  people  called  the  dome  by  her 
name.  Totokomila  never  returned  from  a  hopeless  search  for 
her,  but  a  high  rock  guarding  the  entrance  to  the  valley  was 
named  after  him.1  The  Chinooks  have  a  mountain  named 
Ikanam,  after  one  of  their  gods  who  lives  there  and  inspires 
in  their  minds  superstitious  reverence  for  the  place.  Among 
some  of  the  tribes  thunder  was  supposed  to  be  produced  by 
the  spirits  of  the  mountains.2  Almost  all  the  mountains  and 
high  places  throughout  both  Americas  are  supposed  to  be  the 
dwelling-places  of  spirits  and  spirit  forms,  and  their  tops  are 
the  scene  of  much  fairy  revelry.  Among  the  Aricaras,  near 
the  mouth  of  White  River,  in  the  midst  of  an  extensive  plain, 
stood  a  hill  called  the  mountain  of  spirits,  which  were  little 
devils  in  human  shape  eighteen  inches  high,  armed  with  bows 
and  arrows,  with  which  they  defended  their  mountain  home. 
A  sacred  place  among  the  Western  tribes  was  the  Red  Pipe- 
Stone  Quarry.  They  always  offered  prayers  before  approaching 
this  sacred  place,  which  was  guarded  by  two  female  spirits.  A 
celebrated  rock  in  Oregon  was  a  place  of  pilgrimage  for  all  the 
surrounding  tribes.3 

1  3  Bancroft,  125-26.  2  Loskiel,  31.  3  Peschel's  Races,  249. 


304  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

"  Dead  Mountain  stands  at  the  head  of  the  Mojave  Valley, 
and  is  regarded  with  reverence  by  the  Indians,  who  believe  it 
to  be  the  abode  of  their  departed  spirits.  They  thought  any 
one  who  dared  visit  it  would  be  instantly  struck  dead.1  The 
Indians  seat  themselves  and  earnestly  observe  the  Dead  Moun 
tain.  When  its  hoary  crest  is  draped  in  a  light  floating  haze, 
and  misty  wreaths  are  winding  like  phantoms  among  its  peaks, 
the  wondering  watchers  see  the  spirits  of  departed  Mojaves 
hovering  about  their  legendary  abode,  and  gaze  reverently  at 
the  shadowy  forms  that  circle  around  the  haunted  summit."2 

The  enchanted  mountain  in  Georgia  was  a  place  held  in  su 
perstitious  fear  by  the  Indians.  They  had  many  traditions 
about  it.  It  was  thought  to  be  the  sanctuary  of  a  great  spirit 
that  controlled  the  world  from  its  lofty  summit.  The  tracks 
of  man  and  beast  imbedded  in  the  rocky  top  of  this  mountain 
were  regarded  with  awe. 

The  following  tale  is  told  of  a  haunted  hill  in  the  country  of 
the  Assiniboins.  Many  summers  ago,  a  party  of  Assiniboins 
pounced  on  a  small  band  of  Crees  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wol 
verine  Knoll.  Among  the  victors  was  the  former  wife  of  one 
of  the  vanquished,  who  had  been  previously  captured  by  her 
present  husband.  This  woman  directed  every  effort  in  the 
fight  to  take  the  life  of  her  first  husband,  but  he  escaped  and 
concealed  himself  on  this  knoll.  Wolverine — for  this  was  his 
name — fell  asleep,  and  was  discovered  by  this  virago,  who 
killed  him  and  presented  his  scalp  to  her  Assiniboin  husband. 
The  knoll  was  afterward  called  after  him.  The  Indians  assert 
that  the  ghosts  of  the  murderess  and  her  victim  are  often  to  be 
seen  from  a  considerable  distance  struggling  together  on  the 
very  summit  of  the  height.3 

The  worship  of  mountains  was  prevalent  among  the  natives 
of  Victoria,  and  pilgrimages  were  made  to  them  at  stated  times 
in  the  year.4 


1  Ives's  Rep.,  75 ;  Newberry's  Rep.,  32.  2  Ives's  Rep.,  80. 

3  Simpson's  Overland  Journey,  52.  «  Jackson's  Alaska,  305. 


WORSHIP  AT  HAUNTED  LOCALITIES.        305 

"  The  Black  Hills  are  chiefly  composed  of  sandstone,  and 
are  in  many  places  broken  into  the  most  fantastic  forms.  The 
wandering  tribes  of  the  prairies,  who  often  behold  clouds 
gathering  around  the  summits  of  these  hills,  and  lightning 
flashing  and  thunder  pealing  from  them  when  all  the  neighbor 
ing  plains  are  serene  and  sunny,  consider  them  the  abode  of 
the  genii  or  thunder-spirits,  who  fabricate  storms  and  tempests. 
On  entering  their  defiles,  therefore,  they  often  hang  offerings 
on  the  trees  or  place  them  on  the  rocks  to  propitiate  the  in 
visible  lords  of  the  mountains."1 

Says  Mr.  Brinton,  "  Strange  as  a  fairy-tale  is  Bristock's 
description  of  the  rites  of  the  religion  of  the  holy  mountain 
Olaimi,  among  the  Appalachians.  It  had  two  sacred  caverns, 
the  innermost  two  hundred  feet  square  and  one  hundred  in 
height,  wherein  were  the  emblematic  vase,  ever  filled  with 
crystal  water  that  trickled  in  the  rock,  and  the  grand  altar  of 
one  round  stone,  on  which  incense,  spices,  and  aromatic  shrubs 
were  the  only  offerings." 

The  Guanches  worshipped  the  mountain  of  Tirmak,  and 
enthusiasts  offered  themselves  as  sacrifices  to  it.2 

Metamorphosis  accounts  for  some  of  the  superstitions  about 
mountains.  Two  mountains  in  Oregon,  called  the  Old  Man  and 
the  Old  Woman,  were  supposed  to  be  two  Indians  changed 
into  these  mountains  by  Talapus,  one  of  their  gods,  in  a  fit  of 
anger.3 

One  of  the  loftiest  summits  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  had  a 
personality  assigned  to  it  which  can  only  be  explained  by  meta 
morphosis,  for  the  natives  have  a  tradition  that  it  gave  birth  to 
the  progenitor  of  all  the  bisons.4 

An  illustration  of  the  origin  of  this  curious  belief  can  be 
found  among  the  natives  of  Maine,  for  the  following  tradition 
of  metamorphosis  was  found  among  them.  They  had  a  tra 
dition  that  Mount  Kineo  had  anciently  been  a  cow-  moose, 


1  Astoria,  285.  2  Peschel's  Races,  250. 

3  Lee  and  Frost's  Ten  Years  in  Oregon,  202.  4  Eastman's  Chicora,  55. 


306  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

and  that  a  mighty  Indian  hunter  succeeded  in  killing  this 
queen  of  the  moose  tribe  with  great  difficulty,  while  her  calf 
was  killed  somewhere  among  the  islands  in  Penobscot  Bay. 
This  mountain  still  had  the  form  of  the  moose  in  a  reclining 
posture,  its  precipitous  side  presenting  the  outline  of  her  head.1 
Another  tradition  of  metamorphosis  is  told  by  Mr.  Irving. 
"  In  one  part  of  the  great  salt  plains  of  the  Saline  River  is  a 
large  rock  of  pure  salt  of  dazzling  whiteness,  which  is  highly 
prized  by  the  Indians,  and  to  which  is  attached  the  following 
story.  Many  years  since,  long  before  the  whites  had  extended 
their  march  beyond  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  River,  a  tribe 
of  Indians  resided  upon  the  Platte  near  its  junction  with  the 
Saline.  Among  these  was  one,  the  chief  warrior  of  the  nation, 
celebrated  throughout  all  the  neighboring  country  for  his  fierce 
disposition.  .  .  .  They  gloried  in  him  as  their  leader,  but  shrank 
from  all  fellowship  with  him.  His  lodge  was  deserted,  and 
even  in  the  midst  of  his  own  nation  he  was  alone ;  yet  there 
was  one  being  that  clung  to  him  and  loved  him  in  defiance  of 
the  sternness  of  his  rugged  nature.  It  was  the  daughter  of  the 
chief  of  the  village,  a  beautiful  girl,  and  graceful  as  one  of  the 
fawns  of  her  own  prairie.  .  .  .  She  became  his  wife,  and  he  loved 
her  with  all  the  fierce  energy  of  his  nature.  It  was  a  new  feel 
ing  to  him.  It  stole  like  a  sunbeam  over  the  dark  passions  of 
his  heart.  .  .  .  Her  sway  over  him  was  unbounded.  He  was  as 
a  tiger  tamed.  .  .  .  She  died  ;  he  buried  her ;  he  uttered  no  wail, 
he  shed  no  tear.  He  returned  to  his  lonely  lodge  and  forbade 
all  entrance.  No  sound  of  grief  was  heard  from  it;  all  was 
silent  as  the  tomb.  The  morning  came,  and  with  its  earliest 
dawn  he  left  the  lodge.  ...  A  month  elapsed,  and  he  returned, 
bringing  with  him  a  large  lump  of  white  salt.  In  a  few  words 
he  told  his  tale.  He  had  travelled  many  miles  over  the  prairie. 
The  sun  had  set  in  the  west,  and  the  moon  was  just  rising  above 
the  verge  of  the  horizon.  The  Indian  was  weary,  and  threw  him 
self  on  the  grass.  He  had  not  slept  long  when  he  was  awakened 

1  Thoreau's  Maine  Woods,  176. 


WORSHIP  AT  HAUNTED  LOCALITIES.         307 

by  the  low  wailing  of  a  female.  He  started  up,  and  at  a  little 
distance,  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  beheld  an  old  and  decrepit 
hag  brandishing  a  tomahawk  over  the  head  of  a  young  female 
who  was  kneeling  imploring  mercy.  He  approached  them,  but 
they  seemed  unconscious  of  his  presence.  The  young  female, 
finding  her  prayers  unheeded,  sprang  up,  and  made  a  desperate 
attempt  to  get  possession  of  the  tomahawk.  A  furious  struggle 
ensued,  but  the  old  woman  was  victorious.  Twisting  one  hand 
in  the  long  black  hair  of  her  victim,  she  raised  the  weapon  in 
her  other,  and  prepared  to  strike.  The  face  of  the  young 
female  was  turned  to  the  light,  and  the  warrior  beheld  with 
horror  the  features  of  his  deceased  wife.  In  an  instant  he 
sprang  forward,  and  his  tomahawk  was  buried  in  the  skull  of 
the  old  squaw.  But  ere  he  had  time  to  clasp  the  form  of  his 
wife  the  ground  opened,  both  sank  from  his  sight,  and  on  the 
spot  appeared  a  rock  of  white  salt.  He  had  broken  a  piece 
from  it  and  brought  it  to  his  tribe.  This  tradition  is  still  cur 
rent  among  the  different  tribes  of  Indians  frequenting  that  por 
tion  of  the  country.  They  also  imagine  that  the  rock  is  still 
under  the  custody  of  the  old  squaw,  and  that  the  only  way  to 
obtain  a  portion  of  it  is  to  attack  her.  For  this  reason,  before 
attempting  to  collect  salt,  they  beat  the  ground  with  clubs  and 
tomahawks,  and  each  blow  is  considered  as  inflicted  upon  the 
person  of  the  hag.  The  ceremony  is  continued  until  they 
imagine  she  has  been  sufficiently  belabored  to  resign  her 
treasure  without  opposition."  z 

Potosi  was  an  object  of  veneration  to  the  Peruvians,  and 
a  smaller  hill  near  by,  called  Little  Potosi,  was  thought  to 
be  its  son.  This  personification  of  material  natural  objects, 
and  the  tendency  to  ascribe  to  them  the  power  of  producing 
their  kind,  has  grown  out  of  traditionary  metamorphosis  and 
descents  of  human  beings  from  these  objects.  Such  tradi 
tions  are  very  common  among  all  of  the  tribes.  The  Green- 
landers  thought  they  sprang  from  little  hillocks,2  and  hence 

1  i  Irving's  Indian  Sketches,  117,  seq.  2  Egede,  198. 


308  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

peopled  them  with  spirits  and  had  many  superstitious  traditions 
about  them. 

The  tradition  of  the  Seneca  Indians  in  regard  to  their  origin 
is  that  they  broke  out  of  the  earth  from  a  large  mountain  at  the 
head  of  Canandaigua  Lake,  and  that  mountain  they  still  ven 
erate  as  the  place  of  their  birth.1  They  had  a  superstitious 
reverence  for  this  mountain. 

Volcanoes  have  always  been  objects  of  superstitious  fear. 
They  were  supposed  to  be  produced  by  subterranean  gods 
who  reside  in  the  interior  of  the  earth.  The  Koniagas  think 
that  when  the  craters  of  Alaska  send  forth  fire  and  smoke  the 
gods  are  cooking  their  food  and  heating  their  sweat-houses.2 
Mount  Hood  was  supposed  to  be  an  extinct  volcano,  and  native 
traditions  peopled  it  with  men  destitute  of  the  powers  of  vision.3 
The  Indians  in  the  neighborhood  of  Mount  Shasta  say  that 
their  great  spirit  hollowed  out  that  mountain,  and  used  it  for  a 
wigwam  for  himself,  and  the  smoke  used  to  be  seen  curling  out 
of  the  mountain-top,  but  his  hearth-fire  is  alight  no  longer,  now 
that  the  white  man  is  in  the  land.  Many  thousand  snows  ago, 
a  storm  arose,  shaking  the  huge  lodge  to  its  base.  The  spirit 
commanded  his  daughter  to  go  up  and  bid  the  wind  be  still. 
The  eager  child  hastened  up  to  the  hole  in  the  roof,  but,  ven 
turing  too  far  out,  the  storm  caught  her  by  her  long  hair,  and 
blew  her  down  the  side  of  the  mountain.  From  her  sprang 
the  human  race.  Her  wigwam  was  Little  Mount  Shasta ;  but 
the  spirit  of  the  big  mountain  at  last  found  his  daughter, 
shut  the  door  of  her  wigwam,  the  Little  Mount  Shasta,  and 
they  passed  away,  and  have  never  been  seen  since.4 

The  Indians  of  Nicaragua  offered  human  sacrifices  to  their 
volcano  Masaya,  flinging  the  bodies  into  the  crater;  and  it 
has  been  convenient  for  their  Roman  Catholic  teachers  to  turn 
it  into  a  hell  and  send  their  penitents  to  the  top  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  it.  Around  the  edge  of  the  crater  were*  placed 


1  Life  of  Mary  Jamison,  p.  95,  seq.  2  3  Bancroft,  120-22. 

3  Lee  and  Frost,  57.  *  3  Bancroft,  91-93. 


WORSHIP  AT  HAUNTED  LOCALITIES.         309 

earthen  vessels  of  food.  They  did  not  worship  the  volcano 
itself,  but  a  deity  residing  in  it,  who  occasionally  appeared  in 
the  form  of  a  hideous  old  woman.1  Those  inhabitants  of  Val- 
divia  living  near  volcanoes  offered  sacrifices  to  them,  and  the 
Quiches  had  an  annual  religious  festival  to  their  volcano 
Quetzaltenango. 

Ravines  and  mountain-recesses  share  this  superstitious  fear. 
There  is  a  curious  myth  about  one  of  the  gorges  of  the  Col 
orado.  It  was  supposed  to  have  been  made  by  the  trail  of  one 
of  their  gods,  who  afterward  rolled  a  river  into  the  gorge,  that 
no  one  might  follow  his  track.  They  do  not  dare  enter  this 
gorge  now,  on  account  of  this  myth.2  Among  the  Western 
tribes,  the  Rocky  Mountains  were  the  limits  of  their  known 
world,  and  their  vast  recesses  are  the  abodes  of  gods  and  spirits. 
It  is  the  paradise  of  many  of  the  tribes.3 

A  famous  place  of  sacrifice  among  the  New  England  tribes 
was  a  rocky  cavern  of  an  unsearchable  profundity,  into  which 
offerings  were  thrown.4 

Islands  are  places  of  resort  for  spirits,  and  generally  have 
connected  with  them  traditions  which  inspire  fear  among  the 
natives. 

The  Indians  would  not  venture  near  Manitobah  Island. 
The  origin  of  their  superstition  in  relation  to  this  place  was 
due  to  the  sounds  produced  by  the  waves  as  they  beat  upon 
the  beach  at  the  foot  of  the  cliffs  near  its  northern  extremity. 
During  the  night,  when  a  gentle  breeze  was  blowing  from  the 
north,  the  various  sounds  heard  on  the  island  were  quite  suf 
ficient  to  strike  awe  into  the  minds  of  the  superstitious  Indians. 
These  sounds  frequently  resembled  the  ringing  of  distant  bells: 
so  close,  indeed,  was  the  resemblance  that  travellers  would 
awake  during  the  night  with  the  impression  that  they  were 
listening  to  chimes.  When  the  breeze  subsided,  and  the  waves 
played  gently  on  the  beach,  a  low  wailing  sound  would  be 


1  2  Tylor,  207.  2  Powell's  Exploration,  7. 

3  i  Domenech's  Deserts,  283.  4  Joslyn's  Two  Voyages,  133. 


310  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

heard  three  hundred  yards  from  the  cliffs.  The  Indians  always 
objected  to  land  or  remain  on  this  fairy  island.1 

Father  Dablon  tells  the  following  legend :  "  Certain  Indians, 
lost  in  a  fog,  landed  on  the  island  Missipicooatong,  supposed 
to  be  a  floating  island.  When  departing,  they  were  going  to 
take  with  them  lumps  of  copper  which  they  had  found,  when 
a  loud  and  angry  voice,  ascribed  to  Missibizzi,  the  goblin 
spirit  of  the  waters,  was  heard  exclaiming,  '  What  thieves  are 
these  that  carry  off  my  children's  cradles  and  playthings  ?' 
One  of  the  Indians  died  immediately  from  fear,  and  two  others 
soon  after.  The  fourth  only  survived  long  enough  to  reach 
home.  After  this  the  Indians  steered  far  off  the  site  of  the 
haunted  island." 

The  Isle  of  Yellow  Sands  derives  its  chief  interest  from  the 
traditions  and  fanciful  tales  which  the  Indians  relate  concerning 
its  mineral  treasures  and  their  supernatural  guardians.  They 
pretend  that  its  shores  are  covered  with  a  heavy,  shining,  yellow 
sand,  which  they  are  persuaded  is  gold,  but  that  the  guar 
dian  spirit  of  the  island  will  not  permit  any  to  be  carried  away. 
To  enforce  his  commands,  he  has  drawn  together  upon  it 
myriads  of  eagles,  hawks,  and  other  birds  of  prey,  who,  by 
their  cries,  warn  him  of  any  intrusions  upon  the  domain,  and 
assist  with  their  claws  and  beaks  to  expel  the  enemy.  He  has 
also  called  from  the  depths  of  the  lake  large  serpents  of  the 
most  hideous  forms,  who  lie  thickly  coiled  upon  the  golden 
sands  and  hiss  defiance  to  the  steps  of  the  intruder.  A  great 
many  years  ago,  they  say,  some  people  of  their  nation,  driven 
by  stress  of  weather  upon  the  enchanted  island,  put  a  large 
quantity  of  the  glittering  treasure  in  their  canoes  and  attempted 
to  carry  it  off;  but  a  gigantic  spirit  strode  into  the  water  and 
in  a  tone  of  thunder  commanded  them  to  bring  it  back. 
Terrified,  they  obeyed,  and  were  suffered  to  depart,  but  have 
never  since  attempted  to  land  upon  the  island.2 


1  2  Hind's  Narr.,  70,  71. 

2  Schoolcraft's  Nar.  Jour.,  197  ;  Carver's  Travels, 


WORSHIP  AT  HA  UN  TED  L  O  CALITIES.         3 1 1 

"  Listen,  white  man,  go  not  there ! 
Unseen  spirits  stalk  the  air; 
Ravenous  birds  their  influence  lend, 
Snakes  defy,  and  kites  defend.   .  .  . 
Touch  not,  then,  the  guarded  lands 
Of  the  Isle  of  Yellow  Sands." 

The  little  island  of  Hennepin  was  looked  upon  with  veneration 
on  account  of  a  legend  that  it  is  the  abode  of  a  spirit.  Sometimes 
in  the  morning  may  be  seen  above  the  great  falls  the  ghost  of  an 
Indian  woman  carrying  an  infant  in  her  arms,  whom  she  presses 
to  her  breast;  meanwhile  she  sings  and  steers  a  skiff  made  of 
bark,  which  is  soon  swallowed  up  in  the  foaming  waters.1 

The  islands  of  Titicaca  and  Coati  were  both  sacred,  one  to 
the  sun,  the  other  to  the  moon.2  There  is  a  tradition  that 
formerly  a  puma  appeared  at  night  on  the  crest  of  Titicaca  that 
had  a  jewel  in  its  head  so  bright  it  flashed  light  far  and  wide 
over  the  lake.3  There  is  also  a  gate  through  which  pilgrims 
have  to  pass,  called  Puma-punco,  or  Puma  door.4  On  the 
northern  end  of  the  island,  high  up  where  the  fret  of  the  waves 
is  scarcely  heard  and  the  eye  ranges  over  the  broad  blue  waters 
and  from  the  glittering  crests  of  the  Andes  to  those  of  the 
Cordillera,  is  the  spot  most  celebrated  and  sacred  in  Peru.  No 
bird  would  light  or  animal  venture  upon  this  rock,  nor  would  a 
human  being  dare  set  his  foot  thereon.  It  is  plated  with  gold 
and  silver,  and  a  veil  of  the  richest  cloth  was  thrown  over  it.5 

Even  animation  is  ascribed  to  some  islands,  and  this  concep 
tion  survives  in  the  many  myths,  the  world  over,  wherein  islands 
and  even  the  earth  are  supported  on  the  back  of  some  animated 
being.  The  following  curious  tradition  illustrates  this  subject 
among  the  American  tribes.  The  island  of  Mackinac  is  named 
from  a  mammoth  turtle,  which,  according  to  tradition,  while 
on  its  travels  was  killed  by  ice,  and  was  left  a  black  spot  on 
the  waste  of  frozen  waters.  When  spring  returned,  earth 
gathered  around  the  shell  of  the  turtle,  and  an  island  was  born 


1  I  Domenech's  Deserts,  332-33.  a  Squier's  Peru,  359. 

3  Ib.,  332.  4  ib.,  334.  s  II).,  336. 


312  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

and  nursed  in  the  bosom  of  the  beautiful  blue  waves.  Some 
Delaware  Indians  imagined  that  the  earth  swam  in  the  sea ; 
others,  that  an  enormous  tortoise  carried  the  world  on  its  back.1 
There  was  an  island  on  the  northeast  shore  of  Lake  Huron 
which  presented  the  appearance  of  a  turtle  with  its  head  to 
ward  the  west.  The  Indians  made  offerings  to  it  as  they 
passed,  and  placed  them  near  its  head.2  This,  perhaps,  induced 
the  Ojibways  in  their  pictography  to  adopt  the  turtle  as  the 
symbol  of  land.  The  West  India  Islands  were  thought  to  be 
animated.  The  island  of  Hayti  was  a  turtle  with  its  head 
toward  the  east.3  There  was  the  same  tradition  of  Porto  Rico  ; 
and  this  idea  was  represented  in  many  of  their  sculptured 
stones.  The  Tlascaltecs  believed  that  the  world  was  borne  up 
by  certain  divinities,  who,  when  tired,  relieved  each  other. 
When  they  were  shifting  the  burden  from  shoulder  to  shoulder, 
earthquakes  were  liable  to  occur.  The  Mayas  of  Yucatan  also 
thought  the  world  was  held  up  by  four  brothers.  The  Southern 
Californians  increased  the  number  to  seven. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  in  the  New  World  as  well  as  the 
Old,  untutored  man  was  moved  by  the  same  principle  of  grati 
tude  to  express  his  thankfulness  for  water,  and,  as  he  knows 
not  to  whom  he  is  indebted,  he  imagines  spirits  preside  over 
fountains,  lakes,  and  streams  of  water.  The  Peruvians  wor 
shipped  those  great  fountains  and  rivers  which  supplied  water 
for  irrigating  their  crops.4 

The  tribes  of  Central  America,  Mexico,  and  New  Mexico 
had  their  sacred  springs,  which  played  as  prominent  a  part  in 
their  mythology  as  they  did  in  that  of  Greece  and  Rome,  and 
many  sacrifices  were  offered  to  the  naiads  of  the  New  World. 
At  the  sacred  spring  of  Zuni,  vases  were  kept  in  which  offer 
ings  were  placed,  and  death  would  overtake  any  one  touching 
these  or  their  contents.  Into  the  water  of  this  sacred  spring 
frogs,  tortoises,  and  snakes  alone  must  enter, — animals  sacred 


1  Loskiel,  30.  a  Jones's  Ojibways,  255. 

3  i  Rafinesque,  169-70.  *  I  Garcilasso,  49. 


WORSHIP  AT  HAUNTED  LOCALITIES. 


313 


to  water.1  Any  desecration  of  its  sacred  precincts  would  be 
punished  by  the  spirit  presiding  there. 

We  find  in  America  the  worship  of  streams  of  water,  but 
among  savage  worshippers  their  ideas  had  not  been  generalized 
sufficiently  to  arrive  at  the  conception  of  a  deity  presiding 
over  water  as  an  element.  No  Neptune  appears  even  among 
the  most  civilized  nations.  Sacred  springs  are  frequent.  In 
Nebel's  plate  of  a  fountain  in  the  living  rock  at  Tusapan  we 
have  an  image  of  the  spirit  of  the  spring.  The  statue  is  sev 
enty-nine  feet  high,  sculptured  in  the  living  rock,  through 
which  formerly  ran  the  waters  of  a  natural  spring. 

Near  Fort  Defiance,  in  the  country  of  the  Navajos,  is  a 
spring  which  the  natives  approach  with  much  reverence,  and  at 
which  they  perform  certain  mystical  ceremonies.  This  spring, 
they  say,  was  once  a  boiling  spring,  but  at  present  it  boils  only 
when  approached  by  bad  men,  or  when  its  ceremonies  are 
neglected.  They  say  the  water  will  sometimes  leap  twenty  feet 
from  its  bed  to  catch  and  overwhelm  a  bad  Indian.  The  cere 
monies  consisted  in  making  an  offering  of  vegetable  or  mineral 
substances.  They  knelt  by  the  spring-side,  placed  their  closed 
hands  in  the  water  up  to  the  elbows,  and  after  a  brief  interval 
opened  the  hands  and  dropped  their  contents.  Then  the  hands 
were  slowly  withdrawn.2 

In  Idaho  there  is  a  famous  soda  spring,  of  whose  origin  the 
Snakes  have  the  following  tradition.  A  Shoshone  and  Co- 
manche  chief  quarrelled,  and  the  Shoshone  was  knocked  into 
the  water  when  he  stooped  to  drink.  The  murdered  man  fell 
forward  into  the  spring,  and  immediately  great  bubbles  and 
spirts  of  gas  shot  up  from  the  pool,  and  amid  a  cloud  of  vapor 
appeared  the  great  ancestor  of  the  Comanche  and  Shoshone 
nations,  Waukanaga,  and  with  curses  on  his  lips  dashed  out  the 
brains  of  the  Comanche,  who  fell  beside  his  victim  into  the 
spring.  Since  that  the  spring  has  been  as  it  is  now.3 

The  Indians  of  Colorado  regard  the  springs  that  bubble  up 

1  I  Bell's  New  Tracks,  165.  2  4  Schoolcraft,  213.  3  3  Bancroft,  94. 


PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

from  the  ground  two  miles  from  Colorado  City  with  awe  and 
reverence.  They  believe  that  spirits  trouble  the  waters  by 
breathing  in  them.  An  abundance  of  sacrifices  were  found  in 
the  waters  and  were  hung  to  the  adjacent  trees,1  as  offerings 
to  the  springs.  A  charmed  spot  to  the  natives  of  this  region 
of  country  was  that  which  includes  the  medicinal  springs  and 
seething  geysers.  They  brought  their  sick  thither  to  be  cured. 
The  whole  region  was  enchanted  ground.  Water  that  bubbled 
and  boiled  without  visible  cause  was  a  mystery  to  them.2 

The  Arapahoes  regard  with  awe  the  medicine-waters  of  their 
fountains,  as  being  the  abode  of  a  spirit  who  breathes  through 
the  transparent  water  and  thus  causes  the  perturbations  of  its 
surface.  Says  Ruxton,  "  At  the  time  of  my  visit  the  basin 
of  a  spring  was  filled  with  beads  and  wampum,  while  the  sur 
rounding  trees  were  hung  with  strips  of  deer-skin  and  moc 
casins."3 

The  spring  at  Saratoga,  now  called  the  Deep  Rock,  was  re 
garded  with  superstitious  reverence  in  the  early  days  by  the 
natives  inhabiting  the  neighborhood.  It  was  supposed  to  have 
a  healing  power  that  was  the  gift  of  supernatural  agents,  and 
the  sick  were  brought  to  it  in  large  numbers. 

One  of  the  remarkable  myths  of  the  New  World  was  that  of 
the  fountain  of  life.  From  the  tropical  forests  of  Central 
America  to  the  coral-bound  Antilles,  the  natives  told  the  Span 
iards  marvellous  tales  of  a  fountain  whose  magic  waters  would 
heal  the  sick,  rejuvenate  the  aged,  and  confer  an  ever-youthful 
immortality.  It  may  probably  have  originated  from  the  adora 
tion  of  some  of  the  very  remarkable  springs  abundant  upon 
the  peninsula,  round  which  were  found  signs  of  a  dense  early 
population.  The  later  Indians  of  Florida  seem  to  have  pre 
served  certain  relics  of  a  superstitious  veneration  of  the  aqueous 
element.  That  such  magnificent  springs  as  occur  in  Florida 


x  Richardson's  Beyond  the  Mississippi,  276. 

2  3  Amer.  Ethnol.  Powell's  Ex.,  200-203. 

3  Ruxton's  Adventures,  243  ;  3  Bancroft,  94. 


WORSHIP  AT  HA  UN  TED  L  O  C A  LI  TIES.         3 1 5 

should  have  become  objects  of  especial  veneration  is  a  most 
natural  consequence  of  such  belief.1 

"  Many  of  the  tribes  visit  the  spring  whence  they  have 
been  supplied  with  water,  during  the  winter,  at  the  breaking 
out  of  the  ice,  and  there  offer  up  their  grateful  worship  to  it  for 
having  preserved  them  in  health  and  safety  and  having  supplied 
their  wants.  This  pious  homage  is  performed  with  much  cere 
mony  and  devotion."2 

The  Mayas  had  sacred  springs  supposed  to  be  inhabited  by 
divinities  who  had  children  through  union  with  human  beings. 
Traditions  of  tribal  descent  from  springs  and  fountains  appear 
among  some  of  the  tribes.  The  Caddos  thought  they  sprang 
from  the  Hot  Springs  of  Arkansas.3  The  Collas  of  Peru 
traced  their  descent  from  fountains  ;  the  natives  of  Xauxa,  from 
the  spring  of  Garibalia. 

The  worship  of  lakes  and  rivers  was  prevalent  among  all  the 
tribes.  Each  remarkable  feature,  such  as  a  great  cataract,  or  a 
difficult  and  dangerous  pass  in  a  river,  possessed  a  spirit  of  the 
spot,  whose  favor  they  were  fain  to  propitiate  by  votive  offerings. 

Wherever  a  cataract  was  found,  offerings  were  also  found, 
which  were  made  to  the  spirits  which  presided  in  these  places. 
Waterfalls  were  the  home  of  invisible  spirits  and  mermaids. 
At  many  localities  in  all  the  rivers  malevolent  spirits  were 
supposed  to  preside. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri  a  powerful  manitou  was  sup 
posed  to  prevent  a  safe  passage  in  early  days.4 

There  was  a  tradition  that  a  vast  serpent  lived  in  the  Mis 
sissippi  near  Fox  River,  but  he  finally  took  a  notion  to  visit  the 
Great  Lakes,  and  the  trail  he  made  passing  thither  is  the  basin 
of  that  stream.5 

The  following  tradition  was  told  of  the  migration  of  an 
Ojibway  river-deity.  Near  the  Credit  village,  at  the  foot  of  a 
pointed  hill,  was  a  deep  spot  beneath  the  water  which  was  said 

1  Brinton's  Floridian  Peninsula,  99,  seq. 

2  i  Warburton's  Conq.  of  Can.,  189.  3  5  Schoolcraft,  682. 

4  2  Far  West,  145.  s  Kinzie's  Waubun,  80. 


316  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

to  be  the  abode  of  a  water-god.  Here  he  was  frequently  heard 
to  sing  and  beat  his  drum.  When  the  whites  came,  he  took  his 
departure  during  a  tremendous  flood  caused  by  his  power,  and 
went  down  the  river  into  Lake  Ontario.1 

The  rapids  at  the  mouth  of  Old  Man's  River  were,  according 
to  tradition,  presided  over  by  an  evil  spirit.2 

The  Crees  had  the  following  tradition  about  the  Qu'Appelle. 
A  solitary  Indian  was  coming  down  the  river  in  his  canoe 
many  summers  ago,  when  one  day  he  heard  a  loud  voice  calling 
to  him.  He  stopped  and  listened,  and  again  heard  the  same 
voice  as  before.  He  shouted  in  reply,  but  there  was  no  answer. 
He  searched  everywhere  around,  but  could  not  find  the  tracks 
of  any  one,  so  that  from  that  time  forth  it  was  named  the  "  Who 
Calls  River."  3 

In  passing  the  mouth  of  Devil's  River,  the  Sauks,  as  soon  as 
they  came  in  sight  of  it,  dropped  their  paddles.  When  they 
were  opposite  the  entrance,  they  strewed  the  water  with  tobacco, 
feathers,  and  painted  hair,  then  chanted  a  hymn  and  resumed 
their  oars.4 

Hennepin  gives  the  following  instance  of  river-worship  :  "  As 
we  were  making  the  portage  of  our  canoe  at  St.  Anthony  of 
Padua's  Falls,  we  perceived  five  or  six  of  our  Indians  who  had 
taken  the  start.  One  of  them  was  up  in  an  oak  opposite  the 
great  fall,  weeping  bitterly,  with  a  well-dressed  beaver  robe, 
whitened  inside,  and  trimmed  with  porcupine-quills,  which  he 
was  offering  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  falls,  which  is  in  itself  admi 
rable  and  frightful.  I  heard  him,  while  shedding  copious  tears, 
say,  as  he  spoke  to  the  great  cataract,  Thou  who  art  a  spirit, 
grant  that  our  nation  may  pass  here  quietly  without  acci 
dent,  may  kill  buffalo  in  abundance,  conquer  our  enemies,  and 
bring  in  slaves,  some  of  whom  we  will  put  to  death  before 
thee."s 

1  Jones's  Ojibways,  255.  a  Kane's  Wanderings,  149. 

3  Morse's  Intl.  Rep.,  Appendix,  144. 

*  Hennepin's  Louisiane,  Tr.  in  Shea's  Discovery,  133,  seq. 
5  i  Hind's  Narrative,  370. 


WORSHIP  AT  HA  UN  TED  L  O  CALITIES.         3 1 7 

Father  Marquette  tells  the  following  myth:  "Before  we 
arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Wabash  we  passed  by  a  place 
dreaded  by  the  Indians,  because  they  think  .that  there  is  a 
demon  there  who  devours  all  who  pass,  and  of  this  it  was  that 
they  had  spoken  when  they  wished  to  deter  us  from  our  enter 
prise.  The  devil  is  this  :  a  small  bay  full  of  rocks,  some  twenty 
feet  high,  where  the  whole  current  of  the  river  is  hurled  back 
and  checked  by  a  neighboring  island ;  the  mass  of  water  is 
forced  through  a  narrow  channel ;  all  this  is  not  done  without 
a  furious  combat  of  the  waters,  tumbling  over  each  other,  nor 
without  a  great  roaring,  which  strikes  terror  into  Indians,  who 
fear  everything."  *  Joutel  mentions  the  offering  to  this  river, 
by  way  of  sacrifice,  of  tobacco  and  beefsteaks,  which  they  fixed 
on  forks  and  left  them  on  the  bank,  to  be  disposed  of  as  the 
river  thought  fit.2 

Many  myths  embody  the  animistic  conceptions  of  the  natives. 
The  river-spirits  had  romances  told  of  them.  There  was  a 
tradition  among  the  Indians  on  the  Penobscot  of  a  family  who 
had  a  daughter  accounted  so  great  a  beauty  that  they  could 
not  find  for  her  a  suitable  consort.  At  length  she  was  miss 
ing,  and  her  parents  could  learn  no  tidings  of  her.  After 
much  time  and  pains  spent  and  tears  showered  in  quest  of 
her,  they  saw  her  diverting  herself  with  a  beautiful  youth, 
whose  hair,  like  her  own,  flowed  down  below  his  waist,  swim 
ming  and  washing  in  the  water  of  the  Penobscot;  but  they 
vanished  upon  their  approach.  This  youth  they  imagined  to 
be  one  of  those  kind  spirits  who  inhabit  the  place,  and,  accord 
ing  to  their  custom,  they  called  upon  him  for  moose,  bear, 
or  whatever  creature  they  desired,  and  if  they  did  but  go  to 
the  water-side  and  signify  their  desire  the  animal  would  come 
swimming  to  them. 

Many  of  the  water-deities  had  musical  tastes.  "  While 
among  the  Pascagoulas,  Governor  Perier  was  invited  to  go  to 
the  mouth  of  the  river  of  that  name,  to  listen  to  the  mysterious 


1  Marquette's  Narrative,  Tr.  in  Shea's  Discovery,  41.  2  Joutel,  163. 

21 


3 18  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

music  which  floats  on  the  waters,  particularly  on  a  calm  moon 
light  night,  and  which  to  this  day  excites  the  wonder  of  visitors. 
It  seems  to  issue  from  caverns  or  grottos  in  the  bed  of  the 
river,  and  sometimes  oozes  up  through  the  water  under  the 
very  keel  of  the  boat  which  contains  the  inquisitive  traveller, 
whose  ear  it  strikes  as  the  distant  concert  of  a  thousand  /Eolian 
harps.  On  the  banks  of  the  river,  close  by  the  spot  where  the 
music  is  heard,  tradition  says  that  there  existed  a  tribe  different 
in  color  and  in  other  peculiarities  from  the  rest  of  the  Indians. 
Their  ancestors  had  originally  emerged  from  the  sea  where 
they  were  born,  and  were  of  a  light  complexion.  They  had  a 
temple  in  which  they  adored  a  mermaid.  Every  night  when 
the  moon  was  visible  they  gathered  around  the  beautifully 
carved  figure  of  the  mermaid,  and,  with  instruments  of  strange 
shape,  worshipped  that  idol  with  such  soul-stirring  music  as 
had  never  before  blessed  human  ears.  One  day  a  priest  came 
among  them  and  tried  to  convert  them  from  the  worship  of  the 
mermaid.  One  night,  at  the  solemn  hour  of  twelve,  there  came 
a  rushing  on  the  surface  of  the  river,  as  if  the  still  air  had  been 
turned  to  a  whirlwind  by  myriads  of  invisible  wings  sweeping 
onward.  The  water  seemed  to  be  seized  with  convulsive  fury ; 
it  gathered  itself  up  into  a  towering  column  of  foaming  waves 
on  the  top  of  which  stood  a  mermaid,  looking  with  magnetic 
eyes  that  could  draw  almost  everything  to  her,  and  singing 
with  a  tone  which  fascinated  into  madness.  The  Indians  and 
the  priest,  their  new  guest,  rushed  to  the  bank  of  the  river  to 
contemplate  this  supernatural  spectacle.  When  she  saw  them, 
the  mermaid  turned  her  tones  into  still  more  bewitching 
melody,  and  kept  chanting  a  sort  of  mystic  song.  The  Indians 
listened  with  growing  ecstasy,  and  one  of  them  plunged  into 
the  river,  to  rise  no  more.  The  rest,  men,  women,  and  chil 
dren,  followed  in  quick  succession,  moved  as  it  were  with  the 
same  irresistible  impulse.  When  the  last  of  the  race  disap 
peared,  the  river  returned  to  its  bed.  Ever  since  that  time  is 
heard  occasionally  the  distant  music,  which  the  Indians  say 
is  caused  by  their  musical  brethren,  who  still  keep  up  their 


WORSHIP  AT  HAUNTED  LOCALITIES.        319 

revels  at  the  bottom  of  the  river  in  the  palace  of  the  mer 
maid."  J 

The  favorite  places  of  resort  for  malevolent  spirits  were  the 
dangerous  passes  in  rivers,  such  as  cataracts  or  rapids.  Father 
Brebeuf  relates  that  the  Indians,  before  running  a  dangerous 
rapid  in  their  frail  canoes,  would  lay  tobacco  on  a  rock  where 
the  deity  of  the  rapid  was  supposed  to  reside,  and  ask  for 
safety  in  their  voyage. 

"  The  Brear-beaux  Falls  were  the  largest  on  the  Wisconsin, 
and  the  Indian  name,  translated,  signifies  the  Long  Falls.  These 
falls  were  two  miles  in  length,  having  three  perpendicular  falls 
of  several  feet  each  in  that  distance.  The  Ojibways  had  a  tra 
dition  that  there  was  a  great  spirit  that  presided  over  these 
falls,  to  which  they  made  an  appropriate  offering.  In  1849 
these  falls  were  navigated  in  a  bark  canoe  for  the  last  time  by 
two  Indians, — the  Black  Nail  and  the  Crow.  At  the  head  of 
the  falls,  before  starting,  Crow  held  the  canoe  by  a  rock  pro 
jecting  from  the  shore,  while  Black  Nail  made  a  prayer  and  an 
offering  to  the  spirit  of  the  falls.  The  offering  consisted  of  two 
yards  of  scarlet  cloth  and  a  brass  kettle.  The  prayer  was  in 
these  words :  *  O  great  spirit  of  the  falls  !  I  implore  thee  to 
extend  thy  protecting  arm  over  us  as  we  run  these  mighty 
waters.  Mayest  thou  strengthen  my  arm  and  my  paddle  to 
guide  my  canoe  safely  down  these  dangerous  waters.'  Having 
finished  his  prayer,  he  threw  the  offering  overboard  and  grappled 
his  paddle,  and  the  canoe  went  bounding  over  the  billows  and 
ran  the  falls  in  safety." 

The  Pohono  Fall  is  a  place  for  which  the  Indians  have  a 
superstitious  fear.  Many  persons  have  been  swept  over  and 
dashed  to  pieces  there.  No  native  of  the  vicinity  will  so  much 
as  point  at  this  fall,  nor  will  they  sleep  near  it,  for  the  ghosts  of 
the  drowned  are  tossing  in  its  spray,  and  their  wail  is  heard 
forever  above  the  hiss  of  the  rushing  waters. 

Lakes  are  also  places  of  resort  for  ghosts.      The  Indians 

1  I  Gayarre's  Louisiana,  389,  seq. 


320  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

around  Devil's  Castle,  in  Siskiyou  County,  California,  have  a 
superstitious  fear  of  its  lake,  and  avoid  the  vicinity,  thinking 
they  are  infested  with  malignant  spirits.1  The  Chibchas  threw 
very  precious  offerings  into  their  lakes,  which  were  intended 
for  the  spirits  inhabiting  them.2  The  principal  temples  of  the 
Chibchas  were  the  lakes  where  they  made  their  offerings  of 
precious  things.  Each  Village  on  the  lake  of  Gualavita  had  a 
foot-path  leading  to  it,  worn  by  those  who  went  to  make  their 
offerings.  At  the  bottom  of  this  lake  lived  the  miraculous 
Princess  Bachue  and  her  daughter.  Bachue  was  drowned  in 
this  lake  by  her  husband,  an  ancient  prince.3 

Many  traditions  are  found  connected  with  the  lakes  of  the 
Northwest.  Manitou  Lake  is  so  named  on  account  of  the 
many  superstitions  connected  therewith.  Its  waters  were  filled 
with  forms  monstrous  and  terrible,  inhabited  by  evil  spirits. 
There  is  a  tradition  that  in  a  great  drouth  the  sun  shone  so 
hot  upon  the  surface  of  its  waters  that  the  rays  penetrated  to 
the  horrible  brood  within  its  depths.  The  waters  became 
troubled,  and  bubbles  arose  to  the  surface.  The  water  boiled 
from  its  very  depths,  and  the  hot  waves  dashed  wildly  against 
the  shores.  A  vast  host  of  evil  spirits  emerged,  and  covered 
the  banks  with  their  foul,  trailing  carcasses.  There  is  a  whirl 
pool  in  this  lake  which  carries  the  water  around  four  times  in 
every  twenty-four  hours.  During  the  winter  season  this  whirl 
ing  motion  is  attended  with  noise  and  commotion  beneath  the 
ice,  which  adds  greatly  to  the  superstitious  reverence  of  the 
Indians. 

Those  Indians  dwelling  about  the  great  lakes  of  the  North 
west  thought  that  all  the  prominent  points  along  the  coast 
were  created  and  guarded  by  monsters.4 

"  The  savages  living  around  Lake  Superior  respect  the  lake 
as  a  divinity,  and  offer  sacrifices  to  it  because  of  its  size,  for  it 
is  two  hundred  leagues  long  and  eighty  broad,  and  also  in  con- 


*  3  Bancroft,  158.  a  Bollaert,  14. 

3  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  161-62.  4  Lanman's  Michigan,  85. 


WORSHIP  AT  HAUNTED  LOCALITIES.         321 

sequence  of  its  furnishing  them  with  fish,  upon  which  all  the 
natives  live  when  hunting  is  scarce  in  these  quarters."1 

The  natives  living  about  Lake  Winnipeg  account  for  the 
muddy  condition  of  its  water  by  a  tradition  in  which  one  of 
their  deities,  after  floundering  about  in  mire,  went  into  this  lake 
to  wash  himself  off,  and  has  lived  there  since. 

There  are  many  places  on  Lakes  Winnipeg  and  Manitobah 
which  the  Indians,  who  hunt  and  live  on  the  shores  of  those 
inland  seas,  dare  not  visit.  There  is  scarcely  a  cave  or  head 
land  which  has  not  some  legend  attached  to  it  familiar  to  all 
the  wanderers  on  these  coasts.  On  the  west  side  of  Lake 
Winnipeg,  in  the  long,  dark,  and  gloomy  chambers  formed  by 
fissures  in  the  limestone,  bad  spirits  are  supposed  to  dwell, 
according  to  the  belief  of  the  Indians  who  hunt  on  the  coast. 
The  Indians  never  enter  the  abodes  of  these  imaginary  mani- 
tous.  Near  Limestone  Cave  Point,  on  Lake  Winnipeg,  are 
several  of  these  supposed  fairy  dwellings.  When  an  Indian 
approaches  them  in  his  canoe,  he  either  lays  an  offering  on  the 
beach  or  gives  them  as  wide  a  berth  as  possible.  Steep-Rock 
Point,  on  Lake  Manitobah,  is  also  a  noted  dwelling-place  for 
the  little  men.2 

In  Genesee  County,  New  York,  near  the  Tonawanda  River, 
at  the  bottom  of  a  steep  hill,  is  a  small  lake,  affording  another 
instance  of  pagan  superstition.  The  old  Indians  affirmed  that 
formerly  a  demon  in  the  form  of  a  dragon  resided  in  this  lake, 
which  frequently  disgorged  balls  of  liquid  fire.  To  appease 
him,  many  sacrifices  of  tobacco  had  been  made  by  the  Indians.3 
The  Mohawks  had  a  superstition  that  some  great  misfortune 
would  happen  if  any  one  spoke  on  Saratoga  Lake.4 

The  lakes  were  thought  to  be  thickly  populated  with  spir 
itual  forms.  There  is  a  remarkable  lake  in  the  country  in 
habited  by  the  Spokanes,  called  "  Never-freezing  water,"  which 
is  so  completely  surrounded  by  high  and  precipitous  rocks 


1  Allouez,  Tr.  in  Sheldon's  Hist.  Mich.,  p.  29.  2  2  Hind's  Nar.,  133. 

3  Squier's  Ab.  Mon.  N.  Y.,  48.  4  Lubbock's  Origin,  23. 


322  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

that  it  is  impossible  to  descend  to  the  water.  It  is  said  never 
to  freeze,  even  in  the  most  severe  winters.  The  Indians  believe 
that  it  is  inhabited  by  the  spirits  of  buffalo,  elk,  deer,  and  all 
other  kinds  of  game,  which,  they  say,  may  be  seen  in  the  clear, 
transparent  element.  There  is  a  superstition  respecting  a  point 
called  Painted  Rock  in  Pend  d'Oreille  Lake.  The  Indians, 
they  say,  do  not  venture  to  pass  this  point,  fearing  that  a  great 
spirit  may,  as  related  in  the  legends,  create  a  commotion  in  the 
water  and  cause  them  to  be  swallowed  up  in  the  waves.  The 
painted  rocks  are  very  high,  and  contain  effigies  of  men  and 
beasts,  and  other  characters,  made,  as  the  .Indians  believe,  by  a 
race  of  men  who  preceded  them  as  inhabitants  of  the  land.1 

The  tribes  of  Guiana  dreaded  the  water-mamma,  or  Orehu. 
This  was  a  being  which  inhabited  the  water  and  sometimes 
appeared  in  the  shape  of  a  manati.  The  Orehu  was  a  female 
spirit,  generally  malicious,  and  when  in  a  bad  temper  was  apt 
to  rise  close  to  the  canoes  and  drag  them  and  their  crews 
under  water.2  The  natives  of  Colombia  thought  that  their 
lakes  were  the  residences  of  deities,  to  which  they  offered 
yearly  sacrifices  of  gold  and  jewels.  Paths  to  these  lakes  were 
worn  by  the  Indians  in  their  ascent  and  descent  in  the  perform 
ance  of  their  idolatrous  rites.3  In  Jalisco  the  towns  about 
Chapala  paid  divine  honors  to  the  spirit  of  their  lake,  who  was 
represented  by  an  idol  with  a  miniature  lake  before  it.4  The 
Mosquitos  had  a  spirit  of  the  water,  called  Lewin,  which  they 
feared  greatly.5  The  Itzas  thought  that  spirits  haunted  Lake 
Peten,  into  which  they  threw  their  dead. 

The  Peruvians  had  representations  on  their  vases  of  water- 
deities,  among  which  was  the  God  of  the  Sea,  represented  in 
Fig.  19,  which  shows  their  anthropomorphic  conception  of 
such  deities. 

Those  tribes  who  were  fishermen  always  threw  sacrifices  into 


1  12  Pacific  R.  R.  Reps.,  150.  2  2  Wood's  Unciv.  Races,  630. 

3  i  Hamilton's  Colombia,  192;  Ursua  and  Aguirre,  3. 

4  3  Bancroft,  447.  5  i  ib.,  741. 


WORSHIP  AT  HAUNTED  LOCALITIES.         323 

the  waters  upon  the  approach  of  a  storm.  The  Ojibways  cast 
into  the  waters,  during  dangerous  winds  and  storms  that  had 
overtaken  them,  sacrifices,  and  offered  prayers  to  the  spirits  of 
the  waters.  The  natives  of  Virginia  living  about  Chesapeake 
Bay  always  practised  such  religious  ceremonies.1  Those  living 
about  Pamlico  Sound  also  offered  to  the  angry  spirits  of  the 
waters  during  storms.2  There  is  a  tradition  among  the  Pueblo 

FIG.  19. 


Indians  that  a  young  man  and  a  maiden  were  thrown  into  a 
surging  freshet  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  spirit  that  was  threatening 
them  with  destruction.3  Traditions  of  a  flood  appear  among 
all  the  American  tribes.  These  floods  were,  however,  probably 
nothing  more  than  local  freshets,  by  which  every  region  has 
been  visited  at  some  time  within  the  memory  of  its  inhabitants 
or  their  ancestors. 

In  the  mythical  deluge  of  the  Chibchas,  in  answer  to  prayer, 
Bochica  appeared  seated  on  a  rainbow,  and  quelled  the  floods 
by  opening  a  breach  at  Tequendama,  through  which  the  waters 
poured  down  the  precipice,  leaving  the  plain  more  fertile  than 
before.4 


1  Beverly's  Virginia,  180.  2  i  Martin's  N.  C.,  21. 

3  i  Mollhausen's  Journey,  95.  4  Bollaert,  13. 


324  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

Places  supposed  to  be  haunted  by  spirits  gradually  assume 
the  character  of  sacred  localities. 

This  sacred  character  of  some  localities  has  been  the  origin 
of  places  of  refuge  which  were  so  common  among  the  American 
tribes.  Those  escaping  from  the  hand  of  an  avenger  fled  to 
these  sacred  places  in  which  their  blood  could  not  be  shed. 
This  gradually  developed  into  lodges  and  cities  of  refuge. 
One  of  these  is  described  by  Mr.  Bradbury,  when  among  the 
Arickaras,  as  follows  :  "  They  have  a  sacred  lodge  in  the  centre 
of  their  largest  village,  within  which  no  blood  is  to  be  spilled, 
not  even  that  of  an  enemy,  nor  is  any  one  taking  refuge  there 
to  be  forced  from  it." 

These  places  of  refuge  were  found  by  Mr.  Adair  among  the 
tribes  inhabiting  the  Southeastern  States. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

SABAISM. 

Worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies — Their  personality — Their  anthropomorphic  na 
ture — Animistic  conceptions  of  them — Their  romantic  attachments  to  human 
beings — Their  vitality — Their  occupation  by  translated  heroes — Crude  notions 
concerning  them — Eclipses — Astrology. 

THE  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies  prevailed,  in  its  various 
stages  of  progress,  among  all  the  aboriginal  tribes.  Natural 
objects  that  have  made  a  serious  impression  upon  the  unculti 
vated  mind  on  account  of  their  supposed  power  of  producing 
good  or  evil  have  always  been  subjects  of  reverence  or  fear. 

All  the  various  nature-myths  that  have  been  preserved  for  us 
by  tradition  have  had  very  much  added  to  them  from  age  to 
age.  The  poet  has  used  the  folk-lore  of  prehistoric  ages  to 
create  his  epic,  the  priest  to  elaborate  his  theology,  and  even 
the  early  historian  to  bequeath  to  us  his  historic  fragment. 
In  this  way  metaphorical  language  has  lost  its  signification, 
subsequent  ages  receiving  as  fact  what  preceding  ages  had  only 
thought  of  as  fiction.  This  excess  of  fancy  has,  however,  pro 
duced  too  great  an  impression  in  the  minds  of  a  large  school 
of  mythologists,  for  they  will  no  longer  recognize  any  truth  in 
the  mythological  stories  of  the  ancients,  and  even  the  reality 
of  the  siege  and  destruction  of  Troy  would  have  faded  away  in 
the  twilight  of  a  sun-myth  had  not  Mr.  Schliemann  found  its 
ancient  treasures  and  described  the  city  as  it  was  described  so 
many  centuries  ago.  Nature-worship  is  wholly  inexplicable, 
however,  if  we  assume  that  the  different  objects  were  worshipped 
as  inanimate,  and  even  the  personifications  of  former  mytholo 
gists  have  a  flavor  of  materialism  about  them  that  are  not  truth 
ful  to  the  nature  of  the  primitive  mind.  The  earliest  concep- 

325 


326  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

tion  of  all  of  these  objects  of  worship  was,  that  they  were  not 
inanimate,  but  animated  by  a  spirit,  and  thus  assumed  the 
character  of  a  living  being  as  real  as  the  human  body. 

In  the  mythological  lore  of  the  Manacicas  of  Brazil,  their 
culture-hero,  born  of  a  virgin,  after  spending  a  life  in  benefiting 
his  people,  soared  away  to  become  the  sun.  Their  jugglers, 
who  claimed  the  power  of  flying  through  the  sky  at  pleasure, 
declared  that  the  sun  was  a  luminous  human  figure,  although 
it  was  impossible  for  those  upon  the  earth  to  distinguish  his 
form.1 

Some  of  the  North  American  Indians  believe  their  medicine 
men  have  gone  up  through  holes  in  the  sky,  have  found  the 
sun  and  moon  walking  about  there  like  human  creatures,  have 
walked  about  with  them,  and  looked  down  through  their  peep 
holes  upon  the  earth  below.  The  Haidahs  think  the  sun  is  a 
shining  man  walking  round  the  fixed  earth,  wearing  a  radiated 
crown.  The  nations  of  Oregon  had  the  same  conception  of  the 
sun.2  The  Olchones  of  California  worshipped  the  sun,  but  con 
sidered  it  the  big  man  who  made  the  earth.  They  offered  to 
it  the  first-fruits  of  the  earth.  Many  of  the  natives  of  Guiana 
thought  that  the  sun  and  moon  were  living  beings.  The 
Kioways  pointed  out  the  Pleiades  as  having  the  outline  of  a 
man,  and  said  it  was  the  great  Kioway,  who  was  their  ancestor 
and  the  creator.3  The  Guaycurus  thought  that  the  sun,  moon, 
and  stars  were  men  and  women  that  went  into  the  sea  every 
night  and  swam  out  by  the  way  of  the  east.  The  Loucheux 
say  the  moon  once  lived  among  them  as  a  poor  ragged  boy. 

A  supposed  metamorphosis  originates  many  of  their  tra 
ditionary  stories  about  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  leads  to  their 
supposed  anthropomorphic  nature.  The  Atnas  thought  the 
moon  was  a  metamorphosed  man.4  Chia,  the  female  deity  of 
the  Chibchas,  was  transformed  into  the  moon  by  Bochica,  her 
husband.5  The  Tunjas  had  a  tradition  that  a  cacique  of  Soga- 


1  3  Southey,  182.  2  Dunn,  172.  3  Battey's  Quaker,  107. 

*  2  Bancroft,  62.  5  Bollaert,  13. 


SABAISM.  32; 

moso  was  metamorphosed  into  the  sun,  and  another  cacique 
into  the  moon.  These  they  worshipped  with  much  ceremony.1 
The  Calchaquis  were  converted  into  stars,  which  were  bright 
in  proportion  to  their  rank  and  bravery.2 

The  natives  of  Teotihuacan  in  their  cosmogony  had  meta 
morphosed  Nanahuatzin,  a  god  of  the  early  times,  into  the 
sun,  and  Mexitli  into  the  moon.  This  great  honor  was  con 
ferred  upon  them  evidently  because  of  some  self-sacrificing  act 
on  the  part  of  these  primitive  heroes.  The  myths  say  that  they 
cast  themselves  into  a  great  fire  built  to  illumine  the  darkness 
before  the  present  order  of  things.3 

Such  myths  are  common  among  the  Northern  tribes.  An 
Indian  with  his  wife  and  two  children  was  living  in  a  wigwam 
on  the  great  lake  when  the  game  of  the  country  had  nearly  all 
disappeared.  Everything  seemed  to  go  wrong  with  the  poverty- 
stricken  Indians,  and  starvation  stared  them  in  the  face.  Whole 
days  did  the  father  spend  roaming  through  the  forests,  and  re 
turned  without  even  a  pair  of  snow-birds  for  a  supper.  On 
one  occasion  he  shot  a  rabbit,  and  returned  with  the  speed  of 
the  deer  to  his  lodge,  but  his  wife  and  children  were  gone,  and 
he  knew  not  where  to  find  them.  He  turned  off  in  search  of 
them,  and  a  noise  resembling  the  wail  of  a  loon  came  from  the 
upper  air.  On  raising  his  eyes,  he  beheld  his  family  perched 
on  the  dry  limb  of  a  tall  tree.  They  had  been  transformed 
into  spirits,  and  announced  that  they  would  return  the  coming 
spring,  when  the  time  of  his  transformation  would  come.  True 
to  their  word,  they  came,  and  all  were  changed  into  a  family  of 
shooting  stars.4  Another  mythical  character  among  the  Ojib- 
ways  went  through  a  double  transformation.  Having  been 
suddenly  metamorphosed  one  night  into  a  huge  fire-fly,  when 
he  began  to  ascend  into  the  air  he  w^as  immediately  transformed 
into  the  Northern  star.  These  honors  were  heaped  upon  him 
as  compensation  for  disappointment  in  love.5  They  called  the 


1  P.  Simon,  259.  2  3  Southey,  395-96.  3  5  Bancroft,  204. 

4  Lanman's  Haw-Hoo-Noo,  180-91.  s  Ib.,  260. 


328  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

polar  star  No-adji-manguet,  which,  translated,  means  "  the  man 
who  walks  behind  the  loon-bird." 

Translations  of  heroes  and  benefactors  are  very  common 
among  all  people.  Translation  means  the  removal  of  the  per 
son  to  the  heavenly  bodies  without  death.  The  first  mother  of 
the  Potawatomies  was  translated  to  a  star,  and  was  the  first  to 
take  her  station  in  the  horizon  after  the  sun  had  disappeared 
behind  the  distant  hills.  The  Ottawas  translated  their  male 
ancestor  to  the  sun,  and  their  woman  to  the  moon,  and  thought 
that  the  man  in  the  sun  and  the  woman  in  the  moon  kept  watch 
over  all  actions.1  Two  traditionary  characters  among  the 
Ojibways  were  translated  to  the  upper  empyrean,  and  are 
called  Pagak,  or  the  flying  skeletons.  A  noise  as  of  rushing 
winds  announces  their  flight  overhead,  and  creates  great  fear 
among  the  people. 

The  Housatonic  Indians  believed  that  the  Seven  Stars  were  so 
many  Indians  translated  to  heaven,  and  that  the  stars  in  Charles's 
Wain  were  so  many  men  hunting  Ursa  Major,  the  bear.  They 
begin  the  chase  in  the  spring,  and  it  lasts  all  the  summer,  but 
by  autumn  they  have  wounded  it,  and  the  dripping  blood  turns 
red  the  leaves  of  the  trees.  The  Cherokees  thought  that  the 
morning  star  was  once  a  sorcerer,  who  fled  thither  to  escape 
those  who  pursued  him  to  revenge  necromantic  murder.  They 
also  thought  that  the  Seven  Stars  are  inhabited  by  eight  of  their 
countrymen  who  were  translated.  The  Ojibways  saw  in  the 
face  of  the  full  moon  the  figure  in  faint  outline  of  the  beautiful 
maiden  "  Lone  Bird,"  who  was  translated  thither  as  a  bride  of 
that  luminary.  She  now  looked  down  upon  the  daughters  of 
her  nation,  who  traced  her  form  in  the  disk  of  the  moon  and 
told  her  strange  story  of  love  by  the  light  of  the  lodge-fire. 

One  of  the  guiding  spirits  of  the  Zunis  found  a  home  in  the 
sky  without  passing  the  portals  of  the  grave,  for  he  was  taken 
by  the  Navajos,  when  visiting  them,  and  placed  upon  a  bow 
string  and  shot  into  the  clouds. 

1  Tanner's  Nar.,  320. 


SABAISM.  329 

There  is  a  tradition  among  the  Algonkin  tribes  that  the  even 
ing  star  was  formerly  a  woman,  and  that  three  brothers  travelling 
in  a  canoe  were  translated  into  a  group  of  as  many  stars.  The 
fox,  lynx,  hare,  robin,  and  eagle  had  a  place  in  their  astronomy, 
and  they  had  a  tradition  that  a  mouse  was  seen  creeping  up  the 
rainbow.  The  Milky  Way  in  their  language  was  Tchibekana, 
which  means  "  road  of  the  dead."  T 

The  notions  the  Greenlanders  have,  says  Egede,  of  the  origin 
of  heavenly  lights,  as  sun,  moon,  and  stars,  are  very  nonsen 
sical,  in  that  they  pretend  they  have  formerly  been  so  many 
of  their  ancestors  who  on  different  accounts  were  lifted  up  to 
heaven  and  became  such  glorious  celestial  bodies.  The  moon, 
as  they  will  have  it,  has  been  a  young  man  called  Aningait. 
His  sister  was  named  Malina,  and  was  the  sun.  The  reason 
why  these  two  were  taken  up  into  heaven  is  this.  The  moon 
was  in  love  with  his  sister,  and  stole  to  her  in  the  dark  to 
caress  her.  She,  wishing  to  find  out  who  her  lover  was,  black 
ened  her  hands  so  that  the  mark  might  be  left  on  him.  This 
accounts  for  the  spots  on  the  moon.  She,  however,  deter 
mined  once  to  get  rid  of  him,  and  flew  up  into  the  air,  but  the 
moon  pursued  her,  and  they  have  been  going  ever  since.  Their 
notion  about  the  stars  is  that  some  of  them  have  been  men,  and 
others  animals  and  fishes.  The  three  stars  in  the  belt  of  Orion 
were  three  honest  Greenlanders,  who,  being  out  at  sea  seal- 
catching,  were  bewildered,  and,  not  being  able  to  find  the  shore, 
were  taken  up  to  heaven.  Canis  Major  is  called  Nelleraglek, 
which  is  the  name  of  a  man  among  them.  Ursa  Major  is  a 
reindeer.  Taurus  is  a  kennel  of  hounds.2  Says  Crantz,  the 
Greenlanders  consider  the  celestial  bodies  ancient  Greenlanders 
or  animals,  who  have  mounted  up  thither  and  shine  with  a 
pale  or  fiery  lustre  according  to  the  food  they  eat.  The  shoot 
ing  stars  are  human  souls  on  their  travels.  The  moon,  when 
not  seen,  has  gone  hunting  seals,  and  gets  enough  to  fatten  to 
full  moon.  The  moon  has  a  demoniac  hatred  of  women,  and 

1  Baraga's  Dictionary,  381.  a  Egede,  206-10. 


330  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

the  sun  of  men.     The  Northern  lights  are  the  souls  of  the 
dead  playing  ball.1 

The  personality  of  the  heavenly  bodies  was  the  subject  of 
many  traditions  in  which  their  personal  acts  are  described. 

The  Aztecs  said,  when  the  sun  had  risen  for  the  first  time,  at 
the  beginning,  it  lay  on  the  horizon  and  moved  not,  and  when 
a  deputation  from  the  deities  was  sent  to  request  it  to  move 
along  its  way,  the  answer  was  that  he  would  never  leave  that 
place  till  he  had  destroyed  them  all,  whereupon  the  god  Citli 
immediately  strung  his  bow  and  advanced  against  the  glittering 
enemy,  but  by  quickly  lowering  his  head  the  sun  avoided  the 
first  arrow,  but  the  second  and  third  pierced  his  body,  and, 
filled  with  rage,  he  seized  one  of  them  and  launched  it  back 
upon  his  assailant.  The  brave  Citli  laid  shaft  to  string  never 
more,  for  the  arrow  of  the  sun  pierced  his  forehead.2 

Among  the  remnants  of  the  Iroquois  living  upon  the  north 
eastern  shore  of  Lake  Michigan  there  is  the  tradition  that  there 
are  four  meteors  which  have  the  power  of  shooting  through 
the  sky.  These  meteors  were  once  Indians. 

The  Dacotahs  say  the  meteors  are  men  or  women  flying 
through  the  air.  They  have  a  tradition  that  an  Indian  once 
got  on  the  back  of  one  and  took  a  ride.  Coming  to  a  pond 
full  of  ducks,  which  were  quacking,  the  meteor  went  around 
and  not  over  it ;  coming  to  a  village  where  an  Indian  was  play 
ing  the  flute,  he  passed  around  that  village.3  The  meteors  were 
evidently  not  fond  of  earthly  music,  perhaps  because  their  taste 
was  too  critical,  having  been  cultivated  by  the  music  of  the 
spheres.  According  to  a  legend  of  the  Chippewyans,  there  was 
once  a  quarrel  among  the  stars,  when  one  of  them  was  driven 
away  from  its  home  in  the  heavens  and  descended  to  the  earth. 
It  wandered  from  one  tribe  to  another,  and  had  been  seen 
hovering  over  the  camp-fires  when  they  were  preparing  to 
sleep.  It  always  attracted  attention  and  inspired  wonder  and 


1  i  Crantz,  212-13.  "3  Bancroft,  61. 

3  Eastman's  Legends,  xxvi. 


SABAISM. 


331 


admiration.  Among  all  the  people  in  the  world,  only  one 
could  be  found  who  was  not  afraid  of  this  beautiful  star,  and 
this  was  the  daughter  of  a  Chippewyan.  She  was  not  afraid  of 
the  star,  but  loved  it,  and  was  loved  in  return,  for  when  she 
awoke  at  night  she  beheld  it.  In  midsummer  the  girl  went 
into  the  woods  for  berries,  and  lost  her  way,  and  a  storm  arose, 
and  the  only  answers  to  her  cries  were  those  of  the  frogs,  and 
the  lonely,  bitter  night  came,  and  she  looked  for  her  star,  but 
no  star  could  live  in  that  storm.  The  Indian  girl  was  caught 
by  the  rushing  waters,  and  her  body  washed  away  so  it  could 
never  be  found.  -Many  seasons  passed  away,  and  the  star  was 
seen,  but  its  light  was  dimmed  and  never  remained  long  in  one 
place,  but  appeared  to  be  looking  for  something  it  could  not 
find.  At  last,  with  the  leaves  of  autumn,  it  disappeared.  A 
hunter  chanced  at  night  in  one  of  the  largest  swamps  of  the 
land,  when  to  his  astonishment  he  saw  a  small  light  hanging 
over  the  water,  but  he  could  not  follow  in  its  dangerous  path. 
On  his  return  he  told  his  people.  The  old  men  said  it  was  the 
star  that  had  been  driven  from  heaven,  and  was  now  wandering 
in  search  of  the  beautiful  girl,  and  was  often  seen  by  hunters 
as  they  journey  by  night.1  One  night  the  Ojibways  saw  a  star 
that  shone  brighter  than  all  others,  and  they  doubted  whether 
it  was  as  far  away  as  it  seemed  to  be,  and  on  examination  they 
found  it  to  be  near  the  tops  of  some  trees.  A  committee  of 
the  wise  men  was  called  to  inquire  into  the  strange  phenom 
enon.  At  last  a  young  warrior  had  the  mystery  revealed  to 
him  in  a  dream,  for  a  beautiful  maiden  came  and  stood  at  his 
side,  and  told  him  she  was  charmed  with  the  land  of  his  fore 
fathers,  its  flowers,  its  birds,  its  rivers,  its  beautiful  lakes  and 
mountains  clothed  in  green,  and  she  had  come  to  dwell  upon 
the  earth,  and  asked  that  the  great  men  should  assign  her  a 
home.  They  could  not  select,  and  she  was  told  to  choose  a 
place  herself.  She  looked  for  a  home  in  the  flowers  of  the 
prairie,  but  feared  the  hoof  of  the  buffalo.  She  next  sought 

1  Lanman's  Haw-Hoo-Noo,  240-41. 


332  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

the  mountain  rose,  but  it  was  so  high  the  children  whom  she 
loved  most  could  not  see  her.  At  last  she  chose  the  white 
water-lily  seen  on-  the  surface  of  the  lakes,  where  she  could 
watch  the  gliding  canoe  and  see  herself  reflected  in  the  peaceful 
waters.1 

The  personification  of  the  heavenly  bodies  was  so  complete 
that  romantic  attachments  to  them  sprang  up  in  many  cases. 
Many  tribes  have  such  traditions.  Mrs.  Jameson  mentions  an 
Indian  woman  who  thought  herself  the  bride  of  the  sun,  and 
lived  alone  in  a  lodge  with  its  carved  image.2 

There  is  a  legend  of  an  Ojibway  maiden  whose  name  was 
Sweet  Strawberry.  "  She  was  acknowledged  to  be  the  most 
beautiful  maiden  of  her  nation.  Her  voice  was  like  the  turtle 
dove,  and  the  deer  was  not  more  graceful  in  its  form.  Her 
eyes  were  brilliant  as  the  star  of  the  northern  sky,  and  her  dark 
hair  clustered  around  her  neck  like  vines  around  the  trunk  of 
the  tree.  The  young  men  of  every  nation  had  striven  to  win 
her  heart,  but  she  smiled  upon  none.  The  snows  of  winter 
were  all  gone,  and  the  pleasant  winds  of  spring  were  blowing 
over  the  land.  The  wild  ducks  came  and  proceeded  to  build 
their  nests  in  pairs.  A  cluster  of  early  spring  flowers  peered 
above  the  dry  leaves  of  the  forest,  and  even  these  were  sepa 
rated  into  pairs  and  seemed  to  be  wooing  each  other  in  love; 
all  things  whispered  to  her  of  love.  She  looked  into  her  heart 
and  longed  for  a  companion  whom  she  might  love.  The  brow 
of  the  Sweet  Strawberry  continued  to  droop,  and  her  friends 
looked  upon  her  as  the  victim  of  a  settled  melancholy.  She 
stood  gazing  upon  the  sky,  and,  as  the  moon  ascended,  her  soul 
was  filled  with  a  joy  she  had  never  felt  before.  The  longer  she 
looked  upon  the  brilliant  object,  the  more  deeply  in  love  did 
she  become  with  its  celestial  charms,  and  she  burst  forth  into  a 
wild  joyous  song.  Her  friends  gathered  around  her  in  crowds, 
but  she  heeded  them  not.  They  wondered  at  the  wildness  of 
her  words  and  the  airy-like  appearance  of  her  form.  They  were 

1  Copway's  Ojibways,  100-3.  8  2  Winter  Studies,  149. 


SABAISM.  333 

soon  spell-bound  by  the  scene  before  them,  as  they  saw  her 
gradually  ascend  from  the  earth  into  the  air,  where  she  disap 
peared  as  if  borne  upward  by  the  evening  wind.  They  soon 
discovered  her  clasped  in  the  embraces  of  the  moon,  and  the 
spots  upon  its  surface  are  those  of  her  robe,  which  was  made 
of  the  skins  of  the  spotted  fawn." J  Among  the  Ottawas  the 
sun  had  a  daughter  on  the  earth  whom  a  chief  violated,  where 
upon  tempests  came  upon  the  earth,  the  sun  shot  through  the 
heavens  with  an  unsteady  motion,  and  suddenly  stopped  in  its 
career  and  became  fixed  as  if  in  astonishment  at  the  red  man's 
wickedness.  It  gradually  changed  to  the  color  of  blood,  and 
with  a  dreadful  noise  fell  upon  the  earth.  It  struck  the  north 
ern  shore  of  Mackinac,  formed  the  cavity  of  the  arched  rock, 
entered  the  earth,  from  which  it  issued  in  the  far  east,  and  at 
an  early  hour  the  following  morning  resumed  its  journey.  The 
Indians  fear  to  approach  the  brow  of  the  arched  rock.2  The 
Navajos  have  a  tradition  that  one  of  their  young  women  in 
ancient  times  had  connection  with  the  sun  and  brought  forth  a 
boy,  who  proved  quite  a  hero.3 

The  Southern  Californians  trace  their  descent  from  the  moon 
as  their  mother.  Their  god  was  roaming  solitary  and  alone 
among  his  created  works,  and  evidently  in  a  disposition  favor 
able  to  matrimony,  when  the  moon  came  to  that  neighborhood. 
She  was  very  fair  in  her  delicate  beauty,  and  kind.  The  god 
fell  in  love  with  her,  and  began  to  steal  out  of  his  lodge  at  dusk 
and  spend  the  night-watches  in  the  company  of  the  white- 
haired  moon.  They  soon  eloped  together  to  a  home  beyond 
the  ether,  where  she  may  yet  be  seen,  with  her  gauzy  robe 
and  silvery  hair,  treading  celestial  paths.  They  left,  however, 
upon  the  earth  a  female  infant,  from  whom  the  Indians  claim 
descent.4 

The  legendary  hero  of  the  Chibchas  of  Bogota,  Garanchaca, 
the  first  man  to  build  a  temple,  assumed  to  be  a  child  of  the 


1  Lanman's  Haw-Hoo-Noo,  192-94.  a  Ib.,  214. 

3  4  Schoolcraft,  219.  4  3  Bancroft,  85. 


334  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

sun  by  a  damsel  of  the  earth.  The  sumptuous  temple  which 
he  prepared  to  build  to  his  father  was  not  commenced  before 
death  overtook  him.1 

There  can  be  little  doubt  that  the  sun-worship  of  the  Peru 
vians  originated  in  such  an  assumption  on  the  part  of  Manco 
Capac,  their  first  Inca.  Among  the  pre-Incarial  tribes  the  primi 
tive  conceptions  of  the  sun  as  animated  prevailed  among  their 
other  mythological  traditions,  and  they  may  have  progressed  a 
step  toward  personification  of  this  luminary,  although  there  is 
no  evidence  that  either  Con,  or  Pachacamac,  his  successor  at 
the  head  of  the  pre-Incarial  pantheon,  were  connected  in  any 
way  with  the  worship  of  the  sun.  On  the  contrary,  Con  was 
represented  as  a  spirit  without  material  covering,  and  in  the 
process  of  creating  flew  rapidly  from  north  to  south,  causing 
the  mountains  and  valleys  to  appear  in  his  wake,  which  form 
the  main  feature  in  their  landscape.  Pachacamac  appears  to 
have  inherited  the  spiritual  nature  of  his  father,  for  their  con 
ception  of  him  has  not  expressed  itself  in  any  image  or  repre 
sentation.  Yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  they  are  both  culture- 
heroes.  I  have  elaborated  this  view  in  the  chapter  set  apart 
to  that  subject.  About  the  year  1022  A.D.,  Manco  Capac  ap 
peared,  telling  the  people  he  was  a  child  of  the  sun,  and,  in 
order  to  successfully  usurp  their  place,  also  asserted  that  Con 
and  Pachacamac  had  been  children  of  the  sun  like  himself, — 
that  their  common  father  had  sent  him  on  earth  to  teach  and 
govern  them.  Manco  was  not  wholly  successful  in  his  impos 
ture,  although  all  the  civil  power  at  the  command  of  himself 
and  his  successors  was  used  in  his  and  their  behalf,  together 
with  an  ecclesiastical  priesthood  and  a  ritual  as  gorgeous  and 
imposing  as  any  that  has  ever  existed.  The  intrusive  religion 
of  the  sun  was  not,  however,  established  for  many  generations 
after  its  founder,  and  then  it  was  not  exclusive,  but  a  compro 
mise  was  effected  by  which  the  worship  of  Pachacamac  was 
tolerated,  and  in  countries  subjected  by  arms  sun-worship  never 

1  Bollaert,  21. 


SABAISM.  335 

wholly  supplanted   the  polytheistic    religions,   although    their 
idols  were  carried  captive  to  Cuzco. 

The  worship  of  Pachacamac  was  the  most  popular  among 
the  Peruvian  people  generally,  whilst  the  religion  of  the  sun 
was  that  of  the  court.1  The  priests  of  the  sun  consummated 
their  persecution  by  constructing  an  idol  of  wood  with  a  human 
face,  horrible  in  its  aspect,  representing  Pachacamac,  and 
abusing  the  idol  to  subserve  their  purposes,  causing  it  to  pro 
nounce  feigned  oracles,  and  enriching  themselves  at  the  cost 
of  the  nation's  credulity.2 

To  the  sun  belonged  the  magnificent  temples  in  all  the  cities 
and  almost  all  the  villages  of  the  Peruvian  territory, — temples 
resplendent  with  gold  and  jewels, — and  to  its  ritual  were  conse 
crated  priests,  many  of  whom  maintained  a  perpetual  celibacy. 
There  were  also  dedicated  to  the  sun,  virgins,  who  lived  in 
cloisters  secluded  from  the  world.  The  most  celebrated  house 
of  this  character  was  located  at  Cuzco.  This  contained  more 
than  one  thousand  virgins  famous  for  their  beauty  and  lineage. 
They  were  taken  in  their  most  tender  years  from  their  families 
to  be  buried  in  this  seclusion,  under  the  superintendence  of 
ancient  matrons  who  had  grown  gray  within  the  walls.  Not 
even  the  Peruvian  monarch  dared  tread  within  its  precincts. 
But,  like  all  other  slaves  of  an  ecclesiastical  despotism,  they 
were  used  by  those  who  supported  their  institution,  and  were 
made  to  weave  garments  for  the  Incarial  wardrobe,  and  even  to 
prepare  the  chicha  and  bread  for  the  monarch  and  his  court, 
and  the  most  beautiful  of  those  in  the  convents  outside  of  Cuzco 
were  promoted  to  be  the  concubines  of  the  reigning  monarch, 
notwithstanding  the  death-penalty  for  those  who  lost  their 
purity.  Within  the  cloister-walls  the  morality  of  these  institu 
tions  was  not  much  better  than  that  of  the  European  monas 
teries  during  the  papal  supremacy. 

When  the  evidence  of  their  fall  from  the  path  of  virtue  was 
manifest,  the  child  was  sworn  upon  the  sun,  and  was  reserved 

1  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  153.  *  Ib.,  154. 


336  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

for  the  priesthood,1  and  was  a  very  appropriate  resource  for 
recruiting  the  ranks  of  that  body.  This  same  resort  to  a  god 
to  shelter  the  virtue  of  fallen  women  raised  up  the  line  of 
demi-gods  in  the  ancient  pagan  religions. 

The  principle  underlying  Sabaism  is  the  belief  that  all  the 
heavenly  bodies  are  inhabited  and  taken  possession  of  by  spirit 
ual  beings,  which  have  migrated  thither  and  made  them  their 
habitations.  Ignorant  as  they  were  of  astronomical  knowledge, 
they  did  not  see  any  absurdity  in  animating  a  sun,  moon,  or 
star  with  a  brilliant  hero.  In  very  truth,  a  primitive  people 
consider  the  stars  as  little  spangles  stuck  on  the  sky  as  orna 
ments,  and  the  sky  itself  as  no  farther  off  than  the  mountain 
that  skirts  their  horizon.  The  sun,  above  all  other  natural 
objects,  has  become  a  mythical  being  among  the  most  uncul 
tivated  tribes.  "  The  original  parent  of  the  Comanches  lives, 
they  say,  in  the  sun.  The  Chichemecs  called  the  sun  their 
father.  The  name  for  the  sun  in  the  language  of  the  Salive, 
one  of  the  Orinoco  tribes,  is,  '  the  man  of  the  earth  above.'  "  2 

The  Sauks  looked  upon  the  sun  as  the  residence  of  a  male 
deity.  The  souls  of  the  dead  journeyed  toward  the  setting 
sun.  The  sun  was  a  male  and  a  beneficent  being,  whereas 
the  moon  was  a  female  deity  and  delighted  in  evil.3  The  Da- 
cotahs  believed  that  a  female  spirit  inhabited  the  sun,  a  male 
the  moon.  They  were  both  considered  benevolent.4  Many  of 
the  Nahuas  thought  the  sun  was  the  abode  of  departed  spirits.5 
The  Guaycurus  believed  that  their  chiefs  and  jugglers  lived 
among  the  stars,  while  the  common  people  stayed  about  the 
place  of  interment.6  The  Abipones  thought  the  Pleiades  were 
their  grandfather,  and  when  that  constellation  disappeared  at 
certain  periods  they  supposed  their  grandfather  was  sick.  As 
soon  as  they  returned  in  the  month  of  May,  they  welcomed 
him  with  joyful  shouts  and  festivities.  Among  many  tribes 


1  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  160.  *  I  Spencer,  Soc.,  404. 

3  i  Keating,  215-16.  *  i  ib.,  4°9- 

s  2  Bancroft,  616.  6  3  Southey,  670. 


SABAISM.  337 

the  worship  of  the  sun  and  moon  was  connected  with  ancestral 
worship.  The  caciques  of  the  tribes  of  Chili  were  thought  to 
become  planets  when  they  died.  The  starry  heavens  were 
peopled  with  dead  Ojibways;  the  stars  were  the  homes  of  the 
good  ;  the  brightest  were  ruling  spirits  ;  the  constellations  were 
council  gatherings.  Were  all  the  stories  related  by  them  of 
the  skies  written,  each  star  would  be  connected  with  some 
strange  event.1 

Many  were  assigned  to  a  home  in  the  sky  as  the  reward  of 
generous  self-sacrifice.  A  great  famine  afflicted  the  Ojibways 
one  severe  winter,  when  the  weather  was  so  cold  the  white  bear 
was  afraid  to  leave  his  hiding-place.  From  one  end  of  the 
country  to  the  other  came  the  cry  of  hunger  and  distress.  In 
the  midst  of  their  council  it  was  decided  a  human  sacrifice 
should  be  offered.  The  lot  fell  upon  three  of  the  bravest  men 
of  the  tribe.  The  spot  selected  was  a  neighboring  hill,  and  on 
its  summit  at  the  hour  of  midnight  the  cruel  duty  was  per 
formed.  On  the  following  day  the  weather  moderated,  the 
hunter  went  forth,  and  an  abundance  of  sweet  game  was  brought 
to  every  wigwam.  They  gave  way  to  festivity  and  dancing, 
but  in  the  midst  of  it  all  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the  northern 
sky,  which  was  illuminated  by  a  most  brilliant  light  as  changeable 
as  the  reflections  upon  the  summer  sea  at  sunset  hour.  Across 
this  light  were  dancing  three  huge  figures  of  a  crimson  hue. 
They  were  the  ghosts  of  the  three  warriors  who  had  given  their 
lives  for  their  people  and  had  thus  become  great  chiefs  in  the 
spirit-land.2 

Mr.  Schoolcraft  is  a  very  unwilling  yet  strong  witness  for  the 
anthropomorphic  conception  of  the  Sabaism  of  the  Northern 
tribes.  He  says  that  when  the  arcanum  of  their  belief  is  reached, 
their  monedo,  or  supreme  spirit,  is  located  in  sun  or  moon  or 
indefinite  skies,  and  in  their  pictorial  scrolls  they  paint  the  sun 
as  a  man's  head  and  appear  to  confound  the  symbol  with  the 
substance.  losco,  who  visited  the  sun,  as  their  legends  say, 

1  Copway,  147-48;  2  Keating,  150.          2  Lanman's  Haw-Hoo-Noo,  246-48. 


338  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

found  it  to  be  a  man,  and  walked  a  day's  journey  with   him 
around  the  exterior  rim  of  the  globe.1 

Among  the  Northern  tribes  Mr.  Kohl  found  the  representa 
tions  of  the  sun  to  be  anthropomorphic.     One  of  these  was  a 


picture  of  the  sun  set  on  a  man's  shoulders.  Fig.  20  is  a  repre 
sentation  found  in  Nicaragua  and  copied  in  Pirn  and  Seeman's 
Dottings.  It  shows  an  anthropomorphic  conception  of  the  sun, 
which  is  the  genesis  of  Sabaism.  General  Brown  saw  the 
Blackfeet  pray  hundreds  of  times  to  the  sun,  and  yet  upon 
inquiry  they  explained  that  they  prayed  not  to  the  sun,  but  to 
the  old  man  who  lives  there. 

Among  the  more  primitive  peoples  it  was  the  habitation  of 
one  soul.  Among  the  Natches  and  the  Appalaches  the  sun  was 
the  bright  dwelling-place  of  departed  chiefs,  and  among  the 
Florida  Indians  it  was  the  heaven  of  all  good  spirits.  Starting 
at  first  in  the  primitive  mind  as  the  habitable  body  of  a  spirit, 
it  becomes  the  dwelling-place  of  a  few  privileged  characters, 
and  then  the  heaven  of  all  good  souls.  Its  capacity  has  thus 
been  enlarged  as  the  knowledge  of  its  magnitude  increases. 

Mr.  Tylor  thinks  it  a  very  hard  question  to  answer  why  some 
nations  are  sun-worshippers  and  others  not,  but  says  it  is 
obvious  that  the  sun  is  not  so  evidently  the  god  of  wild  hunters 
and  fishers  as  of  the  tillers  of  the  soil.  We  have  found  in 
America  sun-worship  among  all  of  the  tribes.  It  has  not  be 
come  the  predominant  cult  anywhere,  except  among  the  Peru- 

1  5  Schoolcraft,  402-3. 


SABAISM.  339 

vians  and  Natches.  Among  the  other  tribes  it  has  simply 
coexisted  with  the  worship  of  ancestors,  kings,  heroes,  the 
moon,  stars,  mountains,  springs,  rivers,  lakes,  waterfalls,  ani 
mals,  and  all  else  in  nature  animate  or  inanimate,  for  there  was 
nothing  into  which  a  spirit  might  not  penetrate  and  make  it 
an  oracle  and  a  place  of  sacrifice  and  devotion.  Among  the 
Natches  sun-worship  had  become  the  central  doctrine  of  national 
religion.  The  Natches  government  was  a  solar  hierarchy,  at 
whose  head  stood  the  chief  called  the  sun's  brother.  This 
assumed  relationship  with  the  sun  of  the  Natches  and  Peru 
vian  rulers  is  not  as  absurd  as  it  would  appear,  when  we  con 
sider  that  all  sun-worship  is  based  upon  the  primitive  idea  of 
its  being  a  mere  habitation  or  body  for  a  culture-hero.  This 
idea,  carried  to  its  logical  conclusion,  would  necessitate  ad 
mitting  the  relationship  of  the  dead  hero's  family,  who  would 
also  fall  heir  to  much  of  his  fame. 

Such  a  sun-cult  as  that  of  Peru  and  the  Natches  would  be 
impossible  among  fishers,  for  many  reasons.  Fishers  will 
always  find  their  deities  in  the  sea,  the  river,  the  waterfall,  the 
whirlpool,  the  eddy,  the  storm,  and  the  wind,  or  the  most  dan 
gerous  or  the  most  useful  animals  inhabiting  water.  The 
hunters  will  find  theirs  in  inaccessible  places  on  the  mountains, 
or  in  the  springs  where  they  stop  to  slake  their  thirst,  or  in  the 
tree  that  creaks  in  the  rustling  wind,  in  the  thunder  and  the 
storm,  and  all  animated  nature  which  is  filled  with  the  spirits 
of  their  dead.  The  sun  is  no  more  to  them  than  the  ignis- 
fatuus  that  hovers  around  the  wanderer's  path  at  night,  nor 
half  as  fear-inspiring.  The  moon  is  more  of  a  favorite  among 
hunters  than  the  sun.  Another  condition  necessary  to  such  a 
sun-cult  is  a  despotic  power,  and  coincident  with  this  there 
must  be  a  sufficient  amount  of  astronomical  knowledge  to 
assign  to  the  sun  its  proper  and  important  place  in  nature's 
economy.  Sun-worship  was  ancient  in  Peru,  but  it  was  the 
Incas  who  made  it  the  great  state  religion,  and  their  heliolatry 
was  organized  for  political  ends. 

When  the  sun  has  been  recognized  as  the  greatest  of  the 


340  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

heavenly  bodies,  and  the  great  producer  of  the  earth's  vegeta 
tion,  and  its  size  and  distance  from  the  earth  are  recognized,  it 
becomes  an  object  of  reverence,  and  is  then  associated  with  a 
hero  of  pre-eminent  and  shining  qualities. 

The  Mexicans  worshipped  the  sun,  and  had  a  festival  in 
which  a  human  being  was  sacrificed  to  the  sun,  who  ascended 
the  stone  steps  slowly  from  the  east,  representing  the  course 
of  the  sun,  placed  his  foot  on  the  middle  of  the  stone  of  the 
sun,  was  killed,  and  sent  with  a  message  of  homage  to  that 
luminary,  and  his  body  was  thrown  down  the  steps  to  the 
west.1 

In  the  Mexican  worship  of  the  sun  it  was  sometimes  repre 
sented  by  a  human  face  surrounded  with  rays,  at  other  times 
by  a  full-length  human  figure.  Although  the  worship  of  the 
sun  occupied  a  prominent  place  in  the  Mexican  religion,  yet  it 
by  no  means  occupied  the  first  place,  as  assigned  to  it  by  many 
Americanistes.  It  was  definitely  worshipped  under  the  name 
of  Tonatiuh,  and  also  under  that  of  Naolin,  names  not  very 
prominent  in  their  pantheon.  All  of  the  Mexicans  seemed 
to  be  very  much  distressed  at  eclipses  of  the  sun  and  moon, 
and  always  made  a  great  ado  while  they  lasted,  and  generally 
offered  up  human  sacrifices.  Although  the  sun-cult  is  promi 
nent  among  all  the  more  civilized  tribes,  and  even  among  the 
Natches,  who  had  made  little  progress  in  civilization,  yet 
the  greatest  devotion  to  the  sun  was  found  in  Peru,  where  it 
became  pre-eminently  the  ruling  deity  in  the  days  of  the  Incas. 
In  its  exaltation  we  see  a  step  taken  toward  monotheism.  On 
the  great  altar  of  their  greatest  temple  stood  a  representation 
of  it  in  thick  gold,  richly  set  with  jewels.  The  visage  was 
round,  environed  with  rays  and  flames.  It  was  so  large  it 
nearly  reached  across  the  temple.  It  was  so  placed  that  the 
sun,  on  rising,  cast  its  beams  upon  it,  which  were  reflected  with 
a  grand  refulgence.  At  the  sides  of  this  image  were  the  bodies 
of  the  deceased  Incas,  ranged  according  to  their  antiquity,  and 

1  Duran,  197-98. 


SABAISM.  341 

so  perfectly  preserved  they  appeared  to  be  alive.  The  visages 
of  the  Incas  were  as  if  looking  on  the  floor  of  the  temple,  with 
the  exception  of  Huayna  Capac,  the  most  adored  of  all  the 
children  of  the  sun,  who,  for  his  eminent  virtues,  was  seated 
directly  opposite  the  glorious  orb.1 

A  reproduction  of  this  in  Mr.  Brown's  "  Races  of  Mankind" 
shows  the  anthropomorphic  character  of  the  images,  and  indi 
cates  the  origin  of  their  sun-worship.  In  one  of  the  pyramidal- 
shaped  structures  surrounding  the  temple  of  the  sun  was  found 
the  figure  of  the  moon,  with  female  visage,  around  which  were 
ranged  the  deceased  Incas'  wives.  Another  was  dedicated  to 
the  stars,  another  to  thunder  and  lightning,  and  still  another  to 
the  rainbow.2  The  Chibchas  worshipped  the  sun  with  bloody 
rites.  Human  beings  were  sacrificed,  and  infants  were  slain, 
that  their  blood  might  anoint  those  rocks  first  touched  by  the 
rising  sun.3  The  Lacandones  worshipped  the  sun  without  the 
intervention  of  an  image,  and  also  the  Pipiles.  Among  the 
Isthmians  the  heavenly  bodies  seem  to  have  been  very  gen 
erally  adored.  The  sun  and  moon  were  considered  as  man  and 
wife.  The  thunder  and  lightning  were  thought  to  be  instru 
ments  used  by  the  sun  to  inflict  punishment  on  enemies. 
Dabaiba,  the  goddess  who  received  much  of  their  worship,  was 
a  sun-goddess,  and  undoubtedly  a  native  princess  formerly.4 

Mr.  Tylor  appears  to  be  convinced  of  the  animistic  origin 
of  nature-myths.  In  early  philosophy  throughout  the  world 
the  sun  and  moon  are  alive,  and  as  it  were  human  in  their 
nature,  usually  contrasted  as  male  and  female :  they  neverthe 
less  differ  in  the  sex  assigned  to  them,  as  well  as  in  their  rela 
tions  to  one  another. 

Among  the  Mbocobis  of  South  America,  the  moon  is  a  man 
and  the  sun  is  his  wife. 

Moon-worship,  naturally  ranking  below  sun-worship  in  im 
portance,  ranges  through  nearly  the  same  degree  of  culture. 


1  Ranking,  151-52.  2  jb.,  152-53. 

3  P.  Simon,  248-49.  4  3  Bancroft,  498. 


342  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

There  are  remarkable  cases  in  which  the  moon  is  recognized 
as  a  great  deity  by  tribes  who  take  less  account,  or  none  at  all, 
of  the  sun.  The  rude  savages  of  Brazil  seem  especially  to 
worship  or  respect  the  moon,  by  which  they  regulate  their  fes 
tivals  and  draw  their  omens.  The  men  would  hold  up  their 
hands  and  women  their  babes  to  the  moon.  The  Botecudos 
are  said  to  give  the  highest  rank  among  the  heavenly  bodies 
to  the  moon,  which  they  say  causes  thunder  and  lightning  and 
the  failure  of  vegetables  and  fruits.  The  Caribs  esteemed  the 
moon  more  than  the  sun.  The  Ahts  of  Vancouver's  Island 
regard  the  sun  as  the  male  and  the  moon  as  the  wife,  and  their 
prayers  are  addressed  to  the  moon  as  the  superior  deity  and  the 
highest  object  of  their  worship.  Among  the  Hurons  the  moon 
is  the  maker  of  earth  and  man,  and  grandmother  of  the  sun.1 

The  Ilisees  ascribed  an  anthropomorphic  nature  to  the  heav 
enly  bodies.  They  supposed  the  moon  to  be  the  wife  of  the 
sun,  and  the  stars  their  offspring.2 

The  crude  notions  of  savages  concerning  the  heavenly 
bodies  find  expression  in  many  fictions.  Among  the  Zufiis 
their  two  oldest  ancestors  carry  the  sun  and  moon.  At  the 
time  of  their  first  construction,  sun  and  moon  were  both  alike, 
but  the  man  who  carries  the  moon  has  got  so  far  away  from 
the  surface  of  the  earth  that  we  no  longer  feel  the  heat  from 
that  orb.3  According  to  the  unscientific  creation  of  the  Pueblo 
Indians,  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  were  not  made  as  soon  as  their 
ancestors,  but  chaotic  darkness  prevailed,  relieved  occasionally 
by  the  glare  of  volcanic  fire  which  burst  from  the  mountain 
that  had  given  them  birth.  Not  satisfied  with  the  condition  of 
affairs  as  they  found  them,  this  ambitious  adolescent  people 
proceeded  at  once  in  the  construction  of  sun,  moon,  and  stars, 
and  when  made  they  were  confided  to  the  care  of  Indians,  who 
are  carrying  them  about  on  their  backs.4  It  was  not  an  un 
usual  thing  for  the  Northern  Indians  to  dream  of  conversing 


«  2  Tylor,  299.  a  Ker's  Travels,  105. 

3  Cozzens's  Marvellous  Country,  350-51.        *  Ib.,  346-51. 


SABAISM.  343 

with  the  sun.1  The  Iroquois  have  a  tradition  in  which  Inigorio, 
their  first  man,  is  the  creator  of  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  the 
material  composing  those  bodies  was  taken  from  their  great 
mother,  the  sun  being  created  out  of  her  head.2  Among  the 
California  myths  is  one  claiming  that  the  coyote  was  once  a 
partner  of  a  star  in  the  dance.3  Among  the  Mbocobis  the  story 
is  told  that  the  sun  once  fell  down  in  her  course  and  an  Indian 
put  it  up  again,  when  it  fell  again  and  set  the  forest  in  a  blaze 
of  fire.4  They  have  not  had  any  trouble  with  it  lately.  This 
tradition  is  somewhat  similar  to  the  Phaeton  myth  of  classical 
antiquity.  Among  the  Mosquito  Indians,  Roman  Catholic  in 
genuity  introduced  among  their  sun-myths  that  of  the  sun's 
standing  still  for  a  day.  The  Mosquito  tradition  starts  him  on 
his  travels  again  in  a  very  novel  manner,  showing  their  anthro 
pomorphic  idea  about  the  great  luminary.  A  mosquito  scolded 
him  roundly  for  his  behavior,  but,  finding  it  of  no  avail,  went 
up  and  stung  him  in  the  leg,  which  started  him  quickly  on  his 
course.5  According  to  the  Indians  of  Tlascala,  the  sun  was  a 
god  so  leprous  and  sick  he  could  not  move,  whereupon  the 
other  gods,  taking  advantage  of  his  helplessness,  made  an  oven 
and  lighted  a  fire  and  were  engaged  in  cremating  him.  These 
absurd  notions  of  heavenly  bodies  prevailed  throughout  Amer 
ica.  Among  the  Northern  tribes  there  is  a  tradition  that  the 
sun  was  caught  in  a  trap  set  by  a  boy. 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  Sabaism  occupies  a  prominent  place 
in  the  nature-worship  of  the  Americans,  and  it  can  be  found  in 
all  its  stages  of  development  from  the  purely  anthropomorphic 
character  that  it  assumes  among  the  primitive  peoples.  It  must 
always  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  savage  has  no  knowledge  of 
the  magnitude  or  distance  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  Hence 
most  of  their  myths  are  very  absurd.  To  give  the  reader  a 
proper  conception  of  the  astounding  ignorance  of  savage  and 
even  partially  civilized  peoples  about  the  heavenly  bodies,  a  few 


Kohl's  Kitchi-Gami,  206.  2  Schoolcraft's  Iroquois,  36.  3  Ih.,  400. 

I  Tylor,  288.  s  5  Bancroft,  210. 


344  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

illustrations  will  be  given  of  their  theory  of  eclipses  and  other 
celestial  phenomena.  Mr.  Jones  says,  "The  Ojibways,  at  an 
eclipse  of  the  sun,  think  it  is  dying,  and  shoot  coals  of  fire  at 
it  to  rekindle  it.  They  forbid  their  children  pointing  their 
fingers  at  the  moon,  considering  it  an  insult."  x  The  Chiquitos 
of  Brazil  called  the  moon  mother,  and  during  an  eclipse  they 
shot  arrows  into  the  air  to  drive  away  the  dogs  that  attacked 
her.2  They  thought  the  moon  was  hunted  across  the  sky  by 
huge  dogs,  who  caught  and  tore  her  till  her  light  was  reddened 
and  quenched  by  the  blood  flowing  from  her  wounds.  The 
Indians  rushed  to  her  rescue,  and  by  shooting  arrows  frightened 
away  the  antagonists,  as  they  supposed. 

Eclipses  throughout  the  lower  stages  of  civilization  were 
omens  of  disaster  and  portents  of  dismay.  The  Indians  of 
Tlascala  thought  the  sun  and  moon  were  fighting  when  they 
were  eclipsed,  and  were  frightened,  and  offered  human  sacrifices 
to  them.  The  reddest  people  they  could  get  were  sacrificed  to 
the  sun  ;  albinos  to  the  moon.3 

"  There  was  an  opinion  among  the  Seneca  nation  that  eclipses 
of  the  sun  and  moon  were  caused  by  a  manitou  or  bad  spirit, 
who  mischievously  intercepted  the  light  intended  to  be  shed 
upon  the  earth  and  its  inhabitants.  Upon  such  occasions  the 
greatest  solicitude  existed.  All  the  individuals  of  the  tribe  felt 
a  strong  desire  to  drive  away  the  demon,  and  to  remove  thereby 
the  impediment  to  the  transmission  of  luminous  rays.  For  this 
purpose  they  went  forth,  and,  by  crying,  shouting,  drumming, 
and  the  firing  of  guns,  endeavored  to  frighten  him.  They  never 
failed  in  their  object,  for  by  courage  and  perseverance  they  in 
fallibly  drove  him  off.  Something  of  the  same  kind  is  practised 
among  the  Ojibways  even  in  our  day  when  an  eclipse  happens. 
The  belief  among  them  is  that  there  is  a  battle  between  the 
sun  and  moon,  which  intercepts  the  light.  Their  great  object 
is,  therefore,  to  stop  the  fighting  and  separate  the  combatants. 
They  think  these  ends  can  be  accomplished  by  withdrawing  the 

1  Jones's  Ojibways,  84,  85.          2  I  Southey,  335.          3  Sahagun,  bk.  7,  ch.  I. 


SABAISM.  345 

attention  of  the  contending  parties  from  each  other  and  divert 
ing  it  to  the  Ojibways  themselves.  They  accordingly  fill  the 
air  with  noise  and  outcry."  s 

"The  great  eclipse  of  the  sun  on  the  i6th  of  June,  1806, 
occurred  within  a  few  days  after  the  death  of  Little  Beard,  an 
Iroquois  chief.  This  eclipse  excited  in  the  Indians  a  great  de 
gree  of  astonishment,  for,  as  they  were  ignorant  of  astronomy, 
they  were  totally  unqualified  to  account  for  the  phenomenon. 
The  crisis  was  alarming,  and  something  must  be  done  without 
delay.  They  accordingly  ran  together  in  the  three  towns  near 
the  Genesee  River,  and  after  a  short  consultation  agreed  that 
Little  Beard,  on  account  of  some  old  grudge  which  he  yet 
cherished  toward  them,  had  placed  himself  between  them  and 
the  sun  in  order  that  their  corn  might  not  grow,  and  so  reduce 
them  to  a  state  of  starvation.  Having  thus  found  the  cause, 
the  next  thing  was  to  remove  it,  which  could  only  be  done  by 
the  use  of  powder  and  ball.  Upon  this  every  gun  and  rifle  was 
loaded,  and  a  firing  commenced  that  continued  without  cessation 
till  the  old  fellow  left  his  seat  and  the  obscurity  was  entirely 
removed."  2 

The  Western  Indians  believe  that  when  the  moon  is  full,  evil 
spirits  begin  nibbling  at  it  fo  put  out  its  light,  and  eat  a  portion 
each  night  until  it  is  all  gone.  Then  a  great  spirit,  who  will 
not  permit  the  evil  spirits  to  take  advantage  of  the  darkness 
and  go  about  the  earth  doing  mischief,  makes  a  new  moon, 
working  on  it  every  night  until  it  is  completed,  when  he  leaves 
it  and  goes  to  sleep.  No  sooner  is  he  gone  than  the  bad  spirits 
return  and  eat  it  up  again.3 

The  Nootkans  had  no  other  way  of  accounting  for  eclipses 
except  to  ascribe  them  to  the  attacks  of  animals.  The  following 
is  an  illustration  of  this. 

Says  Mr.  Jewitt,  "On  the  I5th  of  January,  1805,  about  mid 
night,  I  was  thrown  into  considerable  alarm  in  consequence  of 


1  Mitchell,  in  2  Arch.  Amer.,  351  seq.  2  Life  of  Mary  Jamison,  99. 

3  Belden,  290. 


346  PRIMITIVE  -SUPERSTITIONS. 

an  eclipse  of  the  moon,  being  awakened  from  my  sleep  by  a 
great  outcry  of  the  inhabitants.  On  going  to  discover  the 
cause  of  this  tumult,  I  found  them  all  out  of  their  houses,  bear 
ing  lighted  torches,  singing  and  beating  upon  pieces  of  planks ; 
and  when  I  asked  them  the  reason  of  this  proceeding,  they 
pointed  to  the  moon,  and  said  that  a  great  codfish  was  endeavor 
ing  to  swallow  her,  and  that  they  were  driving  him  away.  The 
origin  of  this  superstition  I  could  not  discover."  x  The  Peru 
vians  had  very  much  the  same  idea,  but  shouted  to  frighten 
away  the  authors  of  the  eclipse  ;  some  of  them  thought  she  was 
sick,  and  were  afraid  of  her  falling  in  total  darkness.  The  sun 
in  an  eclipse  was  angry,  and  refused  to  show  his  face.2  The 
natives  of  Cumana  thought  the  sun  and  moon  were  man  and 
wife,  and  they  occasionally  fell  out,  when  an  eclipse  occurred.3 
The  Opatas  attempt  to  frighten  by  their  yells  the  heavenly 
bodies  during  eclipses,  that  they  may  be  prevented. 

All  the  celestial  phenomena  are  assigned  to  causes  equally 
absurd.  Many  of  the  Indians  of  the  British  possessions  be 
lieved  that  the  Northern  lights  were  the  spirits  of  their  departed 
friends  dancing  in  the  clouds,  and  when  these  were  remarkably 
bright  they  said  that  their  friends  were  making  merry.4  The 
Hurons  were  perfectly  ignorant  of'the  causes  of  celestial  ap 
pearances,  meteors,  eclipses,  and  storms.  They  thought  that 
thunder  was  the  voice  of  men  flying  in  the  air,  and  eclipses 
were  produced  by  the  enemies  of  the  sun  and  moon.  The 
Patagonians  said  that  the  stars  were  their  translated  country 
men,  and  the  Milky  Way  was  the  country  where  the  dead  Pata 
gonians  hunted  ostriches.5  The  Ottawas  thought  the  Milky 
Way  was  produced  by  a  turtle  swimming  along  the  bottom  of 
the  sky  and  disturbing  the  mud.6  The  red  clouds  which 
adorned  the  rising  and  the  setting  sun  were  thought  to  be 
colored  by  the  blood  of  men  slain  in  battle.7 

1  Jewitt's  Narrative,  134.  "  i  Tylor,  328-29. 

3  3  Herrera,  309.  4  West's  Journal,  102. 

s  Alger's  Doctrine,  79.  «  Tanner's  Nar.,  320. 

7  Del  Techo,  in  2  Church.  Coll.  Voy.,  701-2. 


SABAISM. 


347 


The  seasons  appear  to  have  been  considered  as  the  pro 
ductions  of  spirits.  The  Algonkins  spoke  of  these  spirits  as 
the  summer-makers  and  the  winter-makers,  and  they  tried  to 
keep  the  latter  at  bay  by  throwing  firebrands  into  the  air.1 

With  such  crude  conceptions  of  the  heavenly  bodies  the 
genesis  of  their  anthropomorphic  myths  is  not  strange.  Mr. 
Spencer  thinks  the  identification  of  the  heavenly  bodies  with 
persons  who  once  lived  has  been  caused  by  misinterpretation 
of  names, — that  the  moon  was  used  in  primitive  times  as  a  com 
plimentary  name  for  a  woman,  and  erroneous  identification  of 
object  originated  lunar  myths.  The  use  of  such  names  has 
undoubtedly  been  a  factor  in  the  production  of  Sabaistic  myths. 
A  few  such  names  were  given  heroes.  "  Chief  of  the  Sky"  was 
the  name  of  one  of  the  Ojibway  chiefs.  A  chief  bearing  such 
a  name  with  him  into  the  spirit-land  in  primitive  times  would 
undoubtedly  have  the  sun  assigned  him  for  a  home,  and  the 
apparent  worship  of  the  sun  in  these  early  times  was  not  a 
worship  of  that  luminary  as  such,  but  merely  worship  of  its 
inhabitant, — a  famous  spirit.  Mr.  Copway,  himself  an  Indian 
and  very  familiar  with  the  conceptions  of  his  people  on  this 
subject,  declares  in  very  emphatic  language,  "  Very  few  of  the 
Northern  Indians  ever  held  the  idea  that  the  sun  was  an  object 
of  worship."  The  sun  was  the  wigwam  of  a  great  spirit,  and  it 
was  as  the  abode  of  this  being  that  the  Indians  viewed  that 
luminary. 

Such  cases  of  assigning  names  of  sun,  moon,  or  stars  to 
human  beings  are  rare,  and  are  not  sufficiently  numerous  to 
account  for  the  universal  worship  of  the  heavenly  bodies  which 
we  have  found  throughout  America.  Sabaism  has  not  grown 
into  such  universal  practice  through  an  occasional  accidental 
misinterpretation  of  names,  but  through  animistic  conceptions 
of  the  heavenly  bodies. 

If  an- ancestor,  supposed  to  have  migrated  to  the  heavens, 
becomes  identified  with  certain  stars,  we  get  a  clue  to  the 

1  Parkman's  Jes.,  Ixxv. 


348  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

fancies  of  astrology.  A  progenitor  so  translated  will  be  con 
ceived  as  still  caring  for  his  descendants,  while  the  ancestors  of 
others  will  be  conceived  as  unfriendly.  Hence  may  result  the 
alleged  good  or  ill  fortune  of  being  looked  down  upon  at  birth 
by  this  or  that  star.  Supposed  accessibility  of  the  heavens 
makes  similarly  easy  their  identification  with  a  man  or  woman. 
Every  male  Mexican  burned  marks  upon  his  wrist  in  honor  of 
certain  stars,  and  no  man  would  die  without  them.  They  wor 
shipped  Venus  and  drew  many  of  their  auguries  from  it.  When 
it  first  rises  they  bar  out  its  light  from  doors  and  windows,  for 
its  twinkle  then  is  a  bad  augury.1  Chasca,  however,  the  Peru 
vian  Venus,  was  always  propitious,  and  was  a  youth  with  long 
and  curling  locks. 

Astrology  had  not  arisen  as  an  occult  science  among  any 
of  the  American  nations.  Traces  of  its  embryonic  condition 
among  the  Mexicans  and  Peruvians  are  found,  however. 

Thus  it  has  been  seen  that  Sabaism  in  all  its  forms  prevailed 
throughout  the  New  World.  It  was  anthropomorphic  in  its 
character,  and  originated  from  the  animistic  superstition.  Men 
and  animals  inhabited  the  celestial  regions.  It  was  as  yet  an 
unmapped  country,  as  no  tribe  had  constructed  a  chart  of  the 
heavens,  but  all  the  fancies  of  the  Old  World  in  reference 
thereto  prevailed. 

1  3  Bancroft,  113. 


CHAPTER    X. 

ANIMISTIC   THEORY   OF   METEOROLOGY. 

Tempests  produced  by  hostile  spirits — Coercive  measures  used  to  prevent  them — 
Winds  the  manifestations  of  spiritual  agency — Anthropomorphic  representations 
of  aerial  deities. 

THE  elements  were  objects  of  worship,  not  as  being  in  them 
selves  proper  objects  of  adoration,  but  because  they  were  mani 
festations  of  spiritual  life.  Many  tribes  ascribed  tempests,  rain, 
and  hail  to  the  agency  of  human  spirits.1  The  land  which  the 
savage  inhabits  is  always  surrounded  by  an  unknown  country, 
which,  as  it  becomes  known,  is  found  to  be  inhabited  by  tribes 
hostile  to  him,  and  who  have  a  spiritual  world  whose  borders 
become  the  borders  of  his  spiritual  world.  The  contests  of 
the  living  are  carried  into  the  realms  of  the  dead,  and  every 
wind  that  blows  is  laden  with  hordes  of  hostile  spirits,  and  the 
.elements  wage  war  directed  by  shadowy  warriors.  The  belief 
is  very  common  that  the  convulsions  of  nature  are  but  the 
fierce  struggles  of  the  hosts  of  the  dead.  Hence  their  future 
life  was  not  void  of  incident,  for  their  spirits  followed  the 
thunder-birds  when  the  heavens  were  black  and  the  lightning 
flashed,  and  they  waged  war  in  the  elements  against  the  hostile 
spirits  of  other  tribes.  The  wind  tore  up  the  trees  as  they 
passed  along,  and  those  cloud-spirits  who  gained  the  victory 
hung  out  the  bow  of  bright  colors.2  This  is  the  poetic  view 
taken  of  their  spiritual  life,  in  the  midst  of  and  controlling  the 
elements.  Every  locality  has  been  visited  at  some  time  within 
the  memory  of  its  inhabitants  or  their  ancestors  with  destructive 
winds  and  storms.  They  were  generally  supposed  to  be  pro- 

1  Jos.  D'Acosta,  bk.  5,  ch.  4.  2  Eastman's  Legends,  228-29. 

23  349 


350  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

duced  by  demons  or  angry  spirits.  The  storms  and  tempests 
were  generally  thought  to  be  produced  by  aerial  spirits  from 
hostile  lands. 

The  Guaycurus  of  South  America,  when  a  storm  arose  and 
there  was  much  thunder  or  wind,  all  went  out  in  troops,  as  it 
were  to  battle,  shaking  their  clubs  in  the  air,  shooting  flights 
of  arrows  in  that  direction  whence  the  storm  came.1  The 
Araucanians  thought  storms,  tempests,  thunder,  and  lightning 
were  the  battles  waged  by  the  spirits  of  their  dead  with  their 
enemies  in  the  air.2  The  Indians  of  North  America  rushed 
with  firebrands  and  clenched  fists  against  the  wind  that  threat 
ened  to  blow  down  their  huts.3 

La  Potterie  says,  "  Certain  savages  to  the  north  are  of  opinion 
that  storms  are  raised  by  the  spirit  of  the  moon,  when  it  lodges 
in  the  bottom  of  the  sea.  To  pacify  it,  therefore,  they  sacrifice 
the  most  valuable  things  they  have."  Thunder,  as  we  have 
seen,  was  produced  by  fabulous  birds,  according  to  the  myths 
of  many  tribes.  The  Hurons  thought  that  thunder  was  pro 
duced  by  a  bird  whose  palace  was  in  the  sky.  It  left  its  home 
when  the  clouds  began  to  gather.  The  lightning  flashed 
whenever  it  opened  or  closed  its  wings.4  The  spirits  of  the 
dead  were  thought  to  transmigrate  into  the  thunder-birds. 

Mr.  Brinton  has  elaborated  quite  a  system  of  mythology 
in  relation  to  the  sacredness  of  the  number  four,  associating 
it  with  the  four  cardinal  points  and  the  winds  that  blow  from 
them.  He  traces  many  myths  of  origin  from  four  brothers, 
and  considers  them  personifications.  He  says,  "Sometimes 
the  myth  defines  clearly  these  fabled  characters  as  the  spirits 
of  the  winds.  The  simplest  form  is  that  of  the  Algonkins 
and  Dacotahs.  They  both  had  four  ancestors,  concerned  in 
various  ways  with  the  first  things  of  time,  not  rightly  dis 
tinguished  as  men  or  gods,  but  positively  identified  with  the 
four  winds.  The  Creeks  told  of  four  men  who  came  from  the 


1  Del  Techo,  in  4  Church.  Coll.  Voy.,  732.  2  2  Molina,  92. 

3  Farrar's  Primitive  Manners,  2.  4  Brebeuf,  2  Jes.  Rel.,  114. 


ANIMISTIC  THEORY  OF  METEOROLOGY.      351 

four  corners  of  the  earth,  and  after  rendering  them  service  dis 
appeared  in  a  cloud.  The  ancient  inhabitants  of  Hayti  had  a 
similar  genealogical  story,  which  Peter  Martyr  relates  with 
various  excuses  for  its  silliness.  Perhaps  the  fault  lay  less  in 
its  lack  of  meaning  than  in  his  want  of  insight.  It  was  to  the 
effect  that  men  lived  in  caves,  and  were  destitute  of  means  to 
prolong  their  race,  until  they  caught  and  subjected  to  their  use 
four  women  swift  of  foot  and  as  slippery  as  eels.  The  Navajos 
have  an  allegory  that  when  they  emerged  from  the  earth  the 
four  spirits  of  the  cardinal  points  were  already  there.  In  the 
mythology  of  Yucatan  the  world  was  supported  by  four  mys 
terious  personages  at  its  four  corners.  Four  mythical  civilizers 
of  the  Peruvians  are  said  to  have  emerged  from  a  cave."  * 

In  many  of  the  myths  found  throughout  America,  one,  two, 
or  three  winds  figure  in  their  cosmogony,  and  are  perhaps 
enrolled  in  their  pantheon  of  spirits.  I  think  the  effort  to 
trace  four  winds  through  the  mythological  stories  of  the  Amer 
icans  would  be  futile,  and  whether  there  be  one,  two,  three,  or 
four  is  a  matter  of  indifference.  The  number  of  these  winds 
depends  upon  the  locality  of  the  tribe  and  the  prevailing  winds 
of  that  locality.  The  spirits  of  the  dead  were  supposed  to 
come  riding  upon  the  winds,  and  if  angry  could  successfully 
assert  their  power  in  the  tempest.  The  most  delightful  future 
the  Indian  could  picture  for  himself  after  death  was 

"  To  be  imprisoned  in  the  viewless  winds 
And  blown  with  restless  violence  round  about 
The  pendent  world." 

An  Ojibway  folk-tale  of  a  great  concourse  of  spirits  that  pre 
sided  over  nature  and  natural  objects  will  illustrate  our  subject. 
"  There  were  spirits  from  all  parts  of  the  country."  Some 
came  with  crashing  steps  and  roaring  voice,  who  directed  the 
whirlwinds  which  were  in  the  habit  of  raging  about  the  neigh 
boring  country.  Then  glided  in  gently  a  sweet  little  spirit 
which  blew  the  summer  gale.  Then  came  in  the  old  sand- 

1  Brinton's  Myths,  77-85. 


352  PRIMITIVE  SUPE&STM1ONS. 

spirit,  who  blew  the  sand-squalls  in  the  sand-buttes  toward  the 
west.  He  was  a  great  speech-maker,  and  shook  the  lodge  with 
his  deep-throated  voice  as  he  addressed  the  spirits  of  the  cata 
racts  and  waterfalls,  and  those  of  the  islands,  who  wore  beauti 
ful  green  blankets. 

The  anthropomorphic  character  of  the  spirits  that  preside 
over  the  elements  is  aptly  illustrated  in   Fig.   21,  the   god  of 

FIG.  21. 


the  air,  as  represented  on  a  vase  from  South  America,  copied 
by  Bollaert.  The  figure  is  painted  red  on  a  yellow  ground. 

A  mythical  ^Eolus  was  a  prominent  character  in  the  folk-lore 
of  many  tribes.  There  was  an  Iroquois  tradition  connected 
with  a  rock  in  Corlear's  Lake  on  which  the  waves  dash  and  fly 
up  to  a  great  height.  When  the  wind  blew  hard,  the  Indians 
believed  that  an  old  Indian  living  under  this  rock,  who  had  the 
power  over  the  winds,  was  angry,  and  therefore  as  they  passed 
it,  in  their  voyages  over,  they  always  threw  a  pipe  or  some  other 
small  present  to  this  old  Indian,  and  prayed  for  a  favorable 
wind.1 

The  doctrine  of  spiritual  agency  is  the  explanation  of  the 
meteorological  phenomena  known  and  feared  by  uncultured  man. 

1  Colden's  Hist.  Five  Nations,  ed.  1750,  32. 


CHAPTER   XL 

PRIESTCRAFT. 

Priests — Sources  of  their  influence — Medicine-men  or  doctors  of  rude  tribes — 
Exorcism  of  evil  spirits  the  method  of  curing  diseases — Sorcerers — Miraculous 
powers  ascribed  to  them — Rain-doctors — Witches — Rise  of  priestly  hierarchies 
among  the  more  civilized  peoples — Priesthoods  of  Peru,  Mexico,  Yucatan,  etc. 
— Monastic  institutions  of  those  countries — Educational  institutions  in  the  hands 
of  the  priests — Their  influence  in  the  State — Confessional — Priestly  absolution 
saved  criminals  from  legal  penalties. 

THE  supposed  power  of  priests  over  spirits  has  been  the 
source  of  their  influence  in  all  religions,  savage  and  civilized. 
The  Tahkali  priest  lays  his  hand  on  the  head  of  the  nearest 
relative  of  the  deceased  and  blows  into  him  the  soul  of  the 
departed,  which  is  supposed  to  come  to  life  in  his  next  child. 
The  survival  of  this  superstition  is  found  in  the  apostolic  suc 
cession.  Says  the  modern  priest  at  ordination,  "  Receive  the 
Holy  Ghost  for  the  office  and  work  of  a  priest  in  the  church 
of  God  now  committed  unto  thee  by  the  imposition  of  our 
hands." 

In  addition  to  the  power  of  transmission  of  spiritual  essence, 
primitive  exorcism  also  survived  to  recent  times.  The  power  of 
the  modern  priest  as  an  exorcist  has  about  departed,  although 
the  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  always  had  a  specially  ordained 
body  of  exorcists,  and  retains  the  belief  in  the  efficacy  of  exor 
cism.  Even  the  Church  of  England  adopted  the  superstition, 
exorcising  infants  before  baptism  in  these  words :  "  I  command 
thee,  unclean  spirit,  in  the  name  of  the  Father,  of  the  Son,  and 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  thou  come  out  and  depart  from  these 
infants."  ' 


Spencer's  Sociology,  256,  260. 

353 


354  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

The  priestly  office  is  not  found  among  primitive  peoples. 
The  predecessors  of  the  priests  in  spiritual  influence  were  the 
doctors,  who  practised  their  art  by  sorcery  and  knew  little  or 
nothing  of  medication.  Sickness  is  a  sign  to  the  savage  that 
his  gods  are  against  him,  and  therefore  in  all  early  stages  of 
culture  the  office  of  priest  and  physician  was  one.1  Among 
the  Northern  tribes  there  were  in  every  tribe  "  medicine-men" 
who  united  in  themselves  the  offices  of  priest,  physician,  and 
fortune-teller  or  prophet.  They  were  supposed  to  possess 
unusual  powers  because  of  their  constant  communion  with, 
and  influence  over,  spirits.  Various  and  extravagant  were  their 
incantations ;  their  charms  mysterious.  They  had  a  special 
dress  for  their  profession.  They  thought  that  all  distempers 
were  caused  by  evil  spirits ;  consequently  none  of  their  phy 
sicians  attempted  to  effect  a  cure  until  they  had  conversed  with 
their  familiar  spirits  and  ascertained  whether  their  aid  could  be 
secured  in  the  effort  to  exorcise  the  adverse  demons.  Violent 
gestures  and  noises  were  added  to  their  other  efforts  for  the 
purpose  of  frightening  the  spirits.  Some  used  gourds  with 
peas  in  them  for  a  rattle  ;  others  a  drum.  They  would  scarify 
the  patient,  and  then  suck  until  they  had  gotten  out,  in  the 
words  of  Lawson,  "  a  great  quantity  of  very  ill-colored  matter, 
and  performing  grimaces  and  antic  postures  which  are  not  to 
be  matched  in  Bedlam."2 

Even  in  cases  of  fracture  the  same  superstition  prevailed. 
The  following  description  of  a  surgical  performance  among 
the  Pawnees  is  from  Mr.  Murray:  "  I  learned  that  in  the  hunt 
already  described  a  good  many  Indians  had  been  bruised  or 
wounded.  Among  those  who  were  hurt  was  a  chief  of  some 
distinction ;  he  had  a  few  ribs  and  one  of  his  arms  broken. 
The  setting  of  this  last,  together  with  the  completion  of  his 
wound-dressing,  was  to  be  accompanied  with  much  ceremony: 
so  I  determined  to  be  a  spectator.  I  went  accordingly  to  his 
lodge,  where  a  great  crowd  was  already  assembled.  A  pro- 

1  Brinton's  Religious  Sentiment,  240.  2  Jones's  Antiquities,  28-33. 


PRIESTCRAFT.  355 

found  silence  was  observed,  and  when  all  the  medicine-men 
and  relatives  had  arrived  and  taken  their  seats,  a  great  medi 
cine-pipe  was  brought  and  passed  round  with  the  usual  cere 
monial  observances  of  a  certain  number  of  whiffs  to  the  earth, 
the  buffalo  spirit,  and  other  spirits.  The  pipe  was  not  handed 
to  the  wounded  man,  probably  because  he  was  supposed  to  be 
for  a  time  under  the  influence  of  a  bad  spirit  and  therefore  not 
entitled  to  the  privileges  of  the  medicine.  When  this  smoking 
ceremony  was  concluded,  three  or  four  of  the  doctors  or  con 
jurers  and  a  few  of  the  great  medicine-men  assembled  round 
him ;  the  former  proceeded  to  feel  his  side  and  apply  some 
remedy  to  it,  while  one  of  them  set  the  arm  and  bound  it  very 
strongly  round  with  leather  and  thongs.  During  this  operation 
the  medicine-men  stooped  over  him  and  went  through  sundry 
mummeries  which  I  could  not  accurately  distinguish.  As  soon 
as  the  bandages  and  dressings  were  completed  they  began  a 
medicine-dance  around  him.  At  first  the  movement  was  slow 
and  accompanied  by  the  low  ordinary  chant,  but  gradually 
both  acquired  violence  and  rapidity,  till  at  length  they  reached 
the  height  of  fury  and  frenzy.  They  swung  their  tomahawks 
round  the  head  of  the  wounded  man,  rushed  upon  him  with 
the  most  dreadful  yells,  shook  the  weapons  violently  in  his 
face,  jumped  repeatedly  over  him,  pretending  each  time  to  give 
him  the  fatal  blow,  then  checking  it  as  it  descended,  and,  while 
once  or  twice  I  saw  them  push  and  kick  his  limbs,  one  of  the 
most  excited  struck  him  several  very  severe  blows  on  the 
breast.  On  inquiry,  I  learned  that  all  these  gesticulations 
were  intended  to  threaten  and  banish  the  evil  spirit  which 
was  supposed  to  have  posesssed  him."1 

Among  the  New  England  Indians,  says  Roger  Williams, 
"the  priest  was  doctor,  and  came  and  conjured  away  their 
sickness  with  many  strange  actions."2  "  The  greatest  part  of 
these  conjurers  do  merely  abuse  the  people,  who  commonly  die 
under  their  hands,  for,  alas!  they  administer  nothing  but  howl 

1  I  Murray's  Travels  N.  A.,  330,  seq.  2  Williams's  Key,  112. 


356  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

and  roar."  '  The  method  of  cure  of  diseases  was  about  the 
same  among  the  medicine-men  of  the  Northwest  coast.  They 
were  supposed  to  possess  the  power  of  exorcising  and  driving 
away  the  ghosts  or  spirits  of  the  dead  and  the  evil  spirits  that 
were  supposed  to  prey  on  the  vitals  of  a  sick  person.2  Among 
the  tribes  of  the  Northwest  the  medicine-men  in  their  practice 
generally  begin  by  singing,  accompanying  it  with  rattles  or 
something  that  will  make  a  great  noise,  and  follow  with  mes 
meric  passes  over  the  body  of  the  patient.  They  get  more 
excited  as  time  passes,  if  quieter  methods  do  not  succeed.  One 
of  the  most  violent  of  their  doctors  around  Shoalwater  Bay 
was  always  called  when  the  others  failed.  Mr.  Swan  gives  an 
interesting  account  of  his  operations.  "  Old  John  came  bring 
ing  with  him  his  family  of  some  half-dozen  persons,  who  aided 
him  in  the  cure  by  attacking  the  roof  with  long  poles.  Old 
John  sat  at  the  patient's  feet  with  his  head  covered  up  with  a 
blanket  for  some  time.  All  at  once  he  threw  off  his  blanket 
and  commenced  to  sing  and  throw  himself  about  in  the  most 
excited  manner,  rattling  large  scallop-shells,  the  chorus  in  the 
mean  time  keeping  up  their  pounding  on  the  roof  and  also  on  a 
couple  of  tin  pans  and  a  brass  kettle.  He  soon  mesmerized  his 
patient  till  she  was  asleep,  when  he  pounced  upon  her  breast 
with  his  whole  weight  and  scooped  his  hands  together  as  if  he 
had  caught  something,  which  he  tried  to  blow  through  his 
hands  into  the  coals;  but  the  skookum  escaped  by  slipping  out 
of  his  hands.  He  said  he  was  sure  he  could  get  it  in  a  day  or 
two."  3 

The  Loucheux  and  other  Indians  of  British  America  had 
the  same  superstitious  and  implicit  faith  in  the  incantations  of 
their  medicine-men.  Their  influence  exceeded  even  that  of  the 
chiefs.  The  conjurer  ruled  supreme  when  sickness  prevailed. 
He  pretended  to  dream  of  the  death  of  certain  persons,  and 
when  it  became  known  to  these  persons  they  came  to  him  with 
their  offerings  and  begged  his  intervention  to  prevent  their 

1  Williams's  Key,    159.  2  Swan's  Wash.  Ter.,  176.  3  Ib.,  183-84. 


PRIESTCRAFT.  357 

doom.  Many  persons  have  fallen  sick  and  actually  died  from 
the  effects  of  such  stories.  An  impious  Ojibway  who  kicked 
a  medicine-man  received  a  severe  punishment  for  his  irrev 
erence,  for  his  leg  was  looped  up  to  his  thigh,  according  to 
tradition,  and  he  had  to  hop  all  the  rest  of  his  life.1  In  this 
way  the  character  and  power  of  these  cunning  rogues  reached 
a  height  where  they  were  ever  after  looked  upon  with  fear  and 
respect. 

"  The  medicine-men  held  the  same  relation  to  the  Dacotahs 
as  the  Druids  to  the  ancient  Britons.  They  were  the  most 
powerful  and  influential  of  the  tribe.  They  were  looked  upon 
as  a  species  of  demi-gods.  They  asserted  their  origin  to  be 
miraculous.  At  first  they  were  spiritual  existences,  encased  in  a 
seed  of  some  description  of  a  winged  nature,  like  the  thistle. 
Wafted  by  the  breeze  to  the  dwelling-place  of  the  gods,  they 
were  received  to  intimate  communion.  After  being  instructed 
in  relation  to  the  mysteries  of  the  spirit-world,  they  went  forth 
to  study  the  character  of  all  tribes.  After  deciding  upon  a 
residence,  they  entered  the  body  of  some  one  about  to  become 
a  mother,  and  were  ushered  by  her  into  the  world."  2 

Among  the  Dacotahs,  the  doctor  rattles  his  gourd,  sucks  the 
patient,  and  thrusts  his  face  into  a  bowl  of  water  to  get  rid  of 
the  disease  by  immersing  it.  If  he  decides  it  is  some  animal 
that  is  producing  the  sickness,  he  has  an  animal-shaped  image 
made,  and  put  in  a  bowl  of  water  mixed  with  red  earth  and 
placed  outside  of  the  tent,  where  young  men  stand  ready  to 
shoot.  When  the  doctor  gets  the  disease  he  pops  his  head  out 
of  the  tent  and  transfers  it  to  the  image,  when  the  young  men 
blow  the  little  bark  animal  to  atoms.  All  of  the  fragments  of 
the  image  are  then  gathered  together  and  burned.3  The  medi 
cine-men  are  not  infallible,  and  sometimes  make  mistakes  in 
their  diagnosis  of  cases  and  ascribe  the  trouble  to  a  wrong 
animal.  At  the  death  of  Iron  Arms,  a  great  warrior,  it  was 


1  2  Algic  Researches,  34.  2  I  Minn.  Hist.  Coll.,  269. 

3  Eastman's  Legends,  23. 


358  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

said  he  died  because  the  doctor  had  made  a  mistake  and 
thought  a  prairie-dog  had  entered  him,  when  it  was  a  mud  hen.1 
Such  mistakes  have  tended  to  bring  their  conjurations  into 
disrespect,  and  they  were  often  treated  with  great  severity  by 
relatives  of  the  dead.  Women  were  allowed  to  practise  medi 
cine,  and  this  custom  also  undoubtedly  brought  disrepute  upon 
medical  practice,  since  very  little  regard  is  shown  women 
among  uncivilized  peoples.  If  they  were  unsuccessful  in  work 
ing  a  cure,  they  were  very  often  killed.  The  following  is  told 
by  Mr.  Battey.  "  At  the  death  of  Ne-wah-kass-ett,  chief  of  the 
Wichitas,  his  brother  Keechi  took  his  rifle,  and,  entering  the 
lodge  of  the  medicine-woman,  without  saying  a  word,  delib 
erately  shot  her  dead  for  having  administered  bad  medicine. 
In  all  probability  the  woman  had  done  the  best  she  knew." 
Those  in  the  village  tore  down  her  lodge  and  piled  it  with  her 
effects  upon  her  dead  body,  and  set  fire  to  the  whole.2  The 
following  curious  illustration  of  medical  practice  among  the 
Piutes  since  the  advent  of  the  whites  is  very  amusing.  The 
medicine-woman  who  is  the  subject  of  the  description  bore  the 
simple  yet  modest  name  of  "  Heap-Chokee,"  a  name  given  to 
her  in  memory  of  the  able  manner  in  which,  during  her  fifteenth 
year,  she  strangled  two  wounded  emigrants  whom  her  dear 
father  had  previously  scalped.  She  became  a  widow  at  the 
age  of  sixty,  and,  having  been  duly  examined  by  the  chief  men 
of  the  tribe  and  pronounced  to  be  far  too  ugly  for  matrimonial 
purposes,  she  was  duly  licensed  to  practise  medicine  according 
to  the  tenets  of  the  regular  Piute  medical  school.  Shortly 
afterward  Dr.  Heap-Chokee  was  called  in  to  prescribe  for  a 
squaw  who  was  in  the  last  stages  of  consumption.  Having 
made  a  careful  examination  of  the  patient  by  punching  her  in 
tender  places  with  the  handle  of  a  hoe,  the  doctor  decided  that 
the  case  was  one  which  did  not  call  for  drugs,  but  for  "  pow 
wow."  She  therefore  shut  herself  up  in  the  patient's  wigwam 
and  danced  and  howled  with  much  vigor  for  several  hours,  at 


1  Eastman's  Legends,  41.  3  Battey's  Quaker  among  Indians,  57. 


PRIESTCRAFT.  359 

the  expiration  of  which  the  patient  was  found  to  be  dead.  It 
so  happened  that  the  consumptive  squaw  was  not  a  valuable 
one,  and,  in  fact,  her  husband  was  rather  glad  that  she  was 
dead.  Still,  the  death  of  the  doctor's  first  patient  was  not 
adapted  to  give  her  a  reputation  for  medical  skill,  and  the  affair 
was  therefore  investigated  by  a  council  of  able  warriors.  The 
council  decided  that  the  doctor  had  committed  an  error  in  not 
prescribing  medicine,  and,  while  it  was  expressly  conceded  that 
it  was  not  worth  while  to  severely  reprimand  her  for  the  death 
of  a  worthless  squaw,  she  was  affectionately  warned  that  she 
would  do  well  in  future  to  prescribe  a  good  dose  of  real  medi 
cine.  A  fortnight  later  a  young  warrior  was  brought  into 
camp,  suffering  from  an  acute  attack  of  grizzly  bear,  the  lead 
ing  symptom  of  which  was  the  fracture  of  a  dozen  or  two  of 
his  ribs  and  a  general  mashing  of  the  internal  organs.  This 
time  the  doctor  compounded  a  medicine  that  really  ought  to 
have  worked  wonders.  It  was  made  by  boiling  together  a  col 
lection  of  miscellaneous  weeds,  a  handful  of  chewing-tobacco, 
the  heads  of  four  rattlesnakes,  and  a  select  assortment  of  worn- 
out  moccasins.  The  decoction  thus  obtained  was  seasoned 
with  a  little  crude  petroleum  and  a  large  quantity  of  red  pepper, 
and  the  patient  was  directed  to  take  a  pint  of  the  mixture  every 
half-hour.  He  was  a  brave  man,  conspicuous  for  his  fortitude 
under  suffering,  but  after  taking  his  first  dose  he  turned  over 
and  died  with  the  utmost  expedition.  Again  the  council  of 
leading  warriors  investigated  the  case.  They  analyzed  and 
tasted  the  medicine,  and  agreed  that  it  was  faultless  in  its  way. 
While  they  fully  approved  of  the  prescription,  they  found  that 
the  doctor  relied  upon  it  alone  and  had  omitted  to  dance  and 
yell.  This  innovation  was  not  passed  over  in  silence,  and  Dr. 
Heap-Chokee  was  solemnly  warned  that  she  must  either  prac 
tise  medicine  properly  or  meet  the  consequences,  and  that 
young  and  valuable  warriors  could  not  be  wasted  with  im 
punity.  Soon  after  the  daughter  of  the  leading  chief  was 
attacked  by  what  was  undoubtedly  an  inflammation  of  the 
brain.  Warned  by  experience,  the  doctor  brought  the  entire 


360  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

resources  of  the  medical  art  to  bear  upon  the  case.  She  not 
only  administered  large  doses  of  her  favorite  decoction,  but  she 
took  a  large  tin  pan  into  the  patient's  wigwam  and  hammered 
it  for  twenty-four  hours,  during  which  time  she  never  ceased  to 
dance  and  to  yell  at  the  top  of  her  lungs.  Her  zeal  called  forth 
the  admiration  of  the  whole  tribe,  and  it  was  considered  certain 
that  the  patient  must  recover ;  but,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  the 
doctor  emerged  from  the  wigwam  in  the  morning  of  the  second 
day,  and  sadly  announced  that  the  girl  was  dead.  Once  more 
the  council  met,  but  its  deliberations  were  short.  Dr.  Heap- 
Chokee  had  attended  three  patients,  and  every  one  had  died. 
There  could  be  no  doubt  that  she  was  an  unsuccessful  physi 
cian,  and  that  if  she  continued  to  practise  the  tribe  would  soon 
be  extinct.  The  course  to  be  pursued  was  too  plain  to  be 
ignored.  The  doctor  was  summoned,  and  was  mildly  but 
firmly  told  that  her  professional  career  was  at  an  end.  Three 
warriors  then  led  her  outside  the  limits  of  the  camp,  and  ad 
ministered  to  her  six  revolver-bullets,  after  which  lots  were 
drawn  for  the  possession  of  her  scalp,  and  the  rest  of  her  was 
quietly  buried.  *  Although  this  account  is  written  in  a  humor 
ous  vein,  it  represents  fairly  the  methods  of  all  the  savage 
peoples  in  such  circumstances. 

Among  the  uncivilized  tribes  of  South  America  the  same 
system  of  medical  practice  prevailed.  The  Abipone  physician 
was  also  prophet,  sorcerer,  and  priest.  Their  method  of  cure 
was  to  suck  the  part  in  which  the  pain  was  located,  and  if  the 
whole  body  was  affected  several  of  them  were  required.  They 
would,  after  a  while,  produce  a  beetle  or  a  worm,  which  they 
had  previously  put  into  their  mouth,  and  said  that  it  was  the 
cause  of  the  disorder.2  Among  the  Patagonians  the  same 
notions  prevailed.  The  sick  were  possessed  with  evil  spirits, 
and  the  doctor  went  around  with  a  drum  intended  to  frighten 
them  away.3 

The  principal  employment  of  the  American  sorcerers  was 

1  New  York  Times.  2  2  Dobriz.,  248-51.  3  2  ib.,  262. 


PRIESTCRAFT.  361 

the  cure  of  disease  by  incantations ;  but  the  medicine-men  did 
not  inspire  so  much  superstitious  fear  in  the  minds  of  the  people 
by  the  practice  of  the  healing  art  as  by  their  other  impostures, 
prominent  among  which  was  witchcraft.  These  sorcerers  were 
also  supposed  to  have  the  power  of  causing  as  well  as  of  curing 
diseases,  and  were  much  dreaded  by  the  people  in  consequence.1 

The  practice  of  witchcraft  aided  the  American  sorcerers  in 
obtaining  great  influence.  Most  of  the  uncivilized  tribes  thought 
that  a  skilful  sorcerer  could  kill  any  one  in  the  space  of  twenty- 
four  hours  merely  by  means  of  the  black  art,  and  even  at  the 
distance  of  many  hundred  miles.  They  were  also  able  to  cause 
long  and  lingering  disorders  in  any  one  they  pleased.2 

As  the  Indians  in  general  believed  in  witchcraft,  and  ascribed 
to  the  arts  of  sorcerers  many  of  the  disorders  with  which  they 
were  afflicted  in  the  regular  course  of  nature,  this  class  of  men 
pretended  to  be  skilled  in  a  certain  occult  science,  by  means  of 
which  they  were  able  not  only  to  cure  natural  diseases,  but  to 
counteract  or  destroy  the  enchantments  of  wizards  or  witches. 
The  Ojibway  sorcerers  were  thought  to  have  the  power  of 
transferring  disease  from  the  patient  who  paid  them  to  his 
enemy.  To  effect  this,  he  made  a  small  wooden  image  of  his 
patient's  enemy.  He  pierced  this  image  in  the  heart,  and  intro 
duced  small  powders,  which,  accompanied  with  the  proper 
incantations,  were  supposed  to  transfer 'the  disease  to  the  per 
son  represented  in  the  image.3  Mr.  Tanner  says  the  necro 
mancers  pretend  to  exercise  an  unlimited  control  over  the 
body  and  mind  of  the  person  represented  by  these  images, 
which  they  make  of  stained  wood  and  rags,  to  which  the  name 
is  given  of  the  person  they  expect  to  control,  and  to  the  heart, 
eyes,  or  some  other  part  of  this  image  they  apply  their  medi 
cines,  which  have  an  effect  upon  the  person  represented.  The 
sorcerers  can  work  their  injuries  if  they  have  a  hair  or  any  part 
of  the  person  against  whom  they  wish  to  direct  them.4 


Brett,  284-89.  2  Loskiel,  118.  32  Keating,  159. 

*  Tanner's  Narrative,  190-91. 


362  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

What  a  key  we  have  here  to  the  whole  labyrinth  of  idolatrous 
and  fetichistic  superstitions  !  Among  the  Iroquois  the  belief  in 
witchcraft  was  universal,  and  the  effect  upon  their  prosperity 
and  population,  if  tradition  is  to  be  credited,  was  at  times 
appalling.  The  witches  constituted  a  secret  association,  which 
met  at  night  to  consult  on  mischief,  and  each  was  bound  to 
inviolable  secrecy.  A  witch  had  power  to  turn  into  a  fox  or 
wolf.  In  order  to  escape,  they  could  transform  themselves  into 
a  turkey  and  fly  away.  Sometimes  they  changed  themselves 
into  a  stone  or  rotten  log  until  their  pursuers  passed  by. 
These  witches  could  blow  hairs  and  worms  into  a  person  and 
produce  disease.1 

"  It  is  incredible  to  what  a  degree  the  superstitious  belief  in 
witchcraft  operates  on  the  mind  of  the  Indian.  The  moment 
his  imagination  is  struck  with  the  idea  that  he  is  bewitched,  he 
is  no  longer  himself.  Of  this  extraordinary  power  of  their  con 
jurers,  of  the  causes  which  produce  it,  and  the  manner  in  which 
it  is  acquired,  they  have  a  very  indefinite  idea.  The  sorcerer, 
they  think,  makes  use  of  some  deadening  substance,  which  he 
conveys  to  the  person  he  means  to  '  strike'  in  a  manner  which 
they  can  neither  understand  nor  describe.  The  person  thus 
'  stricken'  is  immediately  seized  with  an  unaccountable  terror. 
His  spirits  sink,  his  appetite  fails,  he  is  disturbed  in  his  sleep, 
he  pines  and  wastes  au'ay,  or  a  fit  of  sickness  seizes  him,  and 
he  dies  at  last  a  miserable  victim  to  the  workings  of  his  own 
imagination." 

The  supposed  familiarity  of  the  Indian  sorcerer  with  the  in 
habitants  of  the  spiritual  world  gave  him  his  influence.  Most 
of  his  official  duty  consisted  in  calling  on  his  familiar  spirit  or 
spirits,  whose  attention  and  aid  having  been  once  secured, 
miraculous  power  was  supposed  to  be  conferred  upon  him. 
Some  of  these  sorcerers  claimed  to  influence  several  of  these 
spirits.  An  Eskimo  sorcerer  had  as  many  as  ten  of  these  spirits 
under  his  control.  Chusco,  an  acquaintance  of  Mr.  School- 

1  Schoolcraft's  Troquois,  87. 


PRIESTCRAFT.  363 

craft,  claimed  to  influence  the  spirits  of  the  turtle,  swan,  crow, 
and  woodpecker.1  Plate  V.  will  illustrate  the  Indian's  concep 
tion  of  the  spiritual  world  and  the  sorcerer's  influence  therein. 
The  sorcerer's  lodge  can  be  seen,  wherein  he  is  calling  upon  his 
familiar  spirits,  and  they  are  coming  and  entering  the  lodge. 
As  each  spirit  arrives,  the  lodge  shakes.  When  they  are  all 
assembled,  the  sorcerer  can  use  them  as  he  pleases.  The  pic 
ture  represents  a  prophet's  lodge.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  the  sorcerer  is  also  doctor  and  prophet.  In  prophecy  he 
is  supposed  to  be  able  to  send  these  agents  to  the  uttermost 
parts  of  his  earth  in  a  few  seconds,  and  get  information  upon 
any  subject  by  these  messengers.2 

Primitive  prophecy  was  considered  under  the  subject  of  their 
dream-theories.  Such  revelations  came  to  any  who  were  under 
favorable  conditions.  The  power  of  sorcerers  to  send  their 
spirit  messengers  for  information  to  other  localities  for  tribal 
advantage,  is  an  early  step  toward  national  prophecy. 

Henry  tells  the  following  of  the  Ojibways  in  illustration  of 
this  subject:  "Before  setting  forward  on  the  voyage,  prepara 
tions  were  made  for  invoking  and  consulting  the  great  turtle. 
They  built  a  large  wigwam  for  the  use  of  the  priest  and  recep 
tion  of  the  spirit.  The  ceremonies  began  at  night.  The  priest 
then  appeared,  and  crept  under  the  skins  of  the  tent  on  his 
hands  and  knees.  His  head  was  scarcely  within  side  when  the 
edifice,  massy  as  it  has  been  described,  began  to  shake,  and  the 
sounds  of  numerous  voices  were  heard  beneath  the  tent,  some 
yelling,  some  barking  as  dogs,  some  howling  like  wolves,  and 
in  this  horrible  concert  were  mingled  screams  and  sobs  as 
of  despair,  anguish,  and  the  sharpest  pain.  After  some  time 
these  confused  and  frightful  noises  were  succeeded  by  a  perfect 
silence,  and  now  a  voice  not  heard  before  seemed  to  manifest 
the  arrival  of  a  new  character  in  the  tent.  This  was  a  low  and 
feeble  voice,  resembling  the  cry  of  a  young  puppy.  The  sound 
was  no  sooner  distinguished  than  all  the  Indians  clapped  their 

1  4  Schoolcraft's  Indian  Tribes,  491.  2  5  ib.,  422. 


364  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

hands  for  joy,  exclaiming  that  this  was  the  chief  spirit,  the 
turtle,  the  spirit  that  never  lied.  Other  voices  which  they  had 
discriminated  from  time  to  time  they  had  previously  hissed  as 
evil  and  lying  spirits  which  deceive  mankind.  New  sounds 
came  from  the  tent.  During  the  space  of  half  an  hour  a  suc 
cession  of  songs  were  heard,  in  which  a  diversity  of  voices  met 
the  ear.  From  his  first  entrance  till  these  songs  were  finished 
we  heard  nothing  in  the  proper  voice  of  the  priest;  but  now  he 
addressed  the  multitude,  declaring  the  presence  of  the  great 
turtle,  and  the  spirit's  readiness  to  answer  such  questions  as 
should  be  proposed.  The  questions  were  to  come  from  the 
chief  of  the  village,  who  was  silent,  however,  till  after  he  had 
put  a  large  quantity  of  tobacco  into  the  tent,  introducing  it  at 
the  aperture.  This  was  a  sacrifice  offered  to  the  spirit,  for 
spirits  are  supposed  by  the  Indians  to  be  as  fond  of  tobacco  as 
themselves.  The  chief  then  desired  the  priest  to  inquire 
whether  the  English  were  preparing  to  make  war  upon  the  In 
dians.  This  question  having  been  put  by  the  priest,  the  tent 
instantly  shook,  and  for  some  seconds  after  it  continued  to  rock 
so  violently  that  I  expected  to  see  it  levelled  with  the  ground. 
Then  a  terrific  cry  announced  the  departure  of  the  turtle. 
The  spirit  soon  returned,  having  in  its  absence  crossed  Lake 
Huron  and  proceeded  as  far  as  Montreal.  It  announced  that 
the  St.  Lawrence  was  covered  with  boats  full  of  soldiers  coming 
to  fight  the  Indians.  Inquiries  about  private  affairs  were  after 
ward  made." 

Prophecy  among  the  Potawatomies  suffered  a  loss  of  the 
respect  formerly  paid  it,  on  account  of  the  failure  of  the  pre 
dictions  of  the  famous  brother  of  Tecumseh,  and  of  his  attempt 
to  deceive  the  Indians.1  His  influence  was  great  for  a  time. 
This  Shawnee  prophet  well  knew  how,  by  surrounding  him 
self  with  awe-inspiring  mysteries,  to  produce  an  effect  on  the 
susceptible  imaginations  of  the  Indians.  Bearing  in  his  right 
hand  the  string  of  sacred  beans  and  the  magic  fire,  and  carry- 

*  i  Keating,  133-34. 


PRIESTCRAFT.  365 

ing  with  him  also  an  image  of  a  dead  body,  the  size  of  life, 
made  out  of  some  light  material,  he  passed  from  wigwam  to 
wigwam  and  from  tribe  to  tribe,  and  his  solemn,  mysterious 
manner  procured  for  him  everywhere  admission  and  confidence 
even  among  the  wild  and  hostile  Indians  of  the  Upper  Missouri.1 

What  a  weird  spectacle  this  famous  sorcerer  presented  as  he 
stood  upon  the  eminence  overlooking  the  battle  at  Tippecanoe, 
working  his  spells  and  hurling  the  imprecations  of  his  spirit- 
world,  which  he  was  supposed  to  command,  against  the  Ameri 
cans  under  General  Harrison  !  Truly  in  that  defeat  prophecy 
received  its  death-blow  among  the  Red  men  of  the  forest  The 
Natches,  who  appear  to  have  been  considerably  in  advance  of 
all  the  tribes  in  the  United  States  and  British  America  in  civil 
ization,  did  not  have  a  priestly  order,  although  some  progress 
had  been  made  in  that  direction.  The  eight  guardians  of  the 
sacred  fire  were  dedicated  to  that  duty,  but,  as  there  were  no 
offerings,  libations,  or  sacrifices,  these  persons  cannot  be  con 
sidered  priests.  On  the  contrary,  they  had  conjurers  among 
them  who  undoubtedly  practised  as  did  those  of  the  barbarous 
tribes.2  The  power  of  prophecy  was  ascribed  to  them. 

The  American  sorcerers  practised  another  imposture.  They 
used  witchcraft  to  control  the  elements.  Those  around  Fresh 
water  Bay  kept  the  wind  in  leather  bags,  and  disposed  of  it 
as  they  pleased.3  A  Cree  sorcerer  sold  three  days  of  fair 
wind  for  one  pound  of  tobacco.  "  There  were  among  the 
Delawares,"  says  Heckewelder,  "  old  men  and  women  who  got 
their  living  by  pretending  to  supernatural  knowledge  to  bring 
down  rain  when  wanted.  In  the  summer  of  1799  a  most  un 
common  drought  happened  in  the  Muskingum  country.  An 
old  man  was  applied  to  by  the  women  to  bring  down  rain,  and, 
after  various  ceremonies,  declared  that  they  should  have  rain 
enough.  The  sky  had  been  clear  for  nearly  five  weeks,  and 
was  equally  clear  when  the  Indian  made  this  declaration.  But 


1  i  Mollhausen's  Journey  to  the  Pacific,  72.  2  McCulloh,  162. 

3  Hardy's  Travels,  357. 

24 


366  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

about  four  in  the  afternoon  the  horizon  became  overcast,  and, 
without  any  thunder  or  wind,  it  began  to  rain,  and  continued  to 
do  so  till  the  ground  became  thoroughly  soaked.  Experience 
had  doubtless  taught  him  to  observe  that  certain  signs  in  the 
sky  or  in  the  water  were  the  forerunners  of  rain;  yet  the  credu 
lous  multitude  did  not  fail  to  ascribe  it  to  his  supernatural 
power."  When  the  Natches  wanted  rain,  or  when  they  desired 
hot  weather  for  ripening  their  corn,  they  addressed  themselves 
to  the  old  man  who  had  the  greatest  character  for  living  wisely, 
and  they  entreated  him  to  invoke  the  aerial  spirits  in  order  to 
obtain  what  they  demanded.  The  old  man,  who  never  refused 
his  countrymen's  request,  prepared  to  fast  for  nine  days  to 
gether;  he  ordered  his  wife  to  withdraw,  and  during  the  whole 
time  he  ate  nothing  but  a  dish  of  gruel  boiled  in  water  with 
out  salt,  which  was  brought  him  once  a  day  by  his  wife  after 
sunset.  They  never  will  accept  of  any  reward  for  this  service, 
that  the  spirits  may  not  be  angry  with  them.1  The  Virginia 
sorcerers  pretended  to  lay  storms  by  going  to  the  water's  side 
and  making  offerings  to  the  spirits  of  the  waters.  In  Guiana 
the  sorcerers  thought  they  could  control  the  rain  and  the 
clouds  by  incantation.2  Those  of  Paraguay  were  thought  to 
have  the  same  superhuman  control  over  the  rain,  hail,  and 
tempests. 

Among  the  Brazilians,  the  sorcerers  made  them  believe  that 
the  fruitfulness  and  barrenness  of  the  earth  were  owing  to  their 
influence.  Among  many  of  the  tribes  they  boasted  that  the 
growth  of  plants  and  fruits  was  owing  to  them,  and  that  all  the 
blessings  of  heaven  flowed  only  on  account  of  their  zeal  and 
prayers.3 

These  accounts  of  the  sorcerers  show  them  to  have  been  a 
set  of  professional  impostors,  who,  availing  themselves  of  the 
superstitious  prejudices  of  the  people,  acquired  the  name  and 
reputation  of  men  of  superior  knowledge  and  possessed  of 
supernatural  powers.  Many  of  these  sorcerers  were  believed  to 

1  2  Du  Pratz,  Louisiana,  241.  2  Brett,  208.  3  3  Ticart,  18. 


PRIESTCRAFT.  367 

be  able  to  work  miracles.  A  young  Comanche  medicine-man 
pretended  to  bring  the  dead  to  life.  He  also  ascended  to  the 
clouds  far  beyond  the  sun.  He  had  several  times  ascended  in 
the  presence  of  the  Comanches,  remaining  in  the  sky  over 
night  and  coming  back  next  day.  He  succeeded  in  deluding 
the  minds  of  his  people  in  the  following  manner.  It  is  given 
out  that  at  a  certain  time  he  will  visit  the  sun.  He  withdraws 
himself  a  short  distance  from  the  crowd,  charging  them  to  look 
directly  at  the  sun  until  he  speaks  to  them,  then  let  their  eyes 
slowly  fall  to  the  place  where  he  is  standing.  As  they  do  this, 
they  will  see  dark  bodies  descend  to  receive  him,  with  which 
he  will  ascend.  His  directions  being  complied  with,  the  dark 
objects  descend  to  him,  and,  being  blinded  by  their  continual 
gazing  upon  the  sun,  he  bids  them  slowly  raise  their  eyes,  and 
the  dark  objects  arise,  while  he  conveys  himself  away  and  con 
ceals  himself  until  the  appointed  time  of  his  return.1  The 
Medicine  Bluffs  received  the  name  from  the  following  legend. 
Many  years  since,  a  noted  medicine-man  of  the  Comanche 
tribe,  in  company  with  some  friends,  rode  up  the  slope  of  the 
hill,  when  this  frightful  precipice  of  two  hundred  or  two  hun 
dred  and  fifty  feet  appeared  before  them,  stopping  them  in  their 
course.  But  the  medicine-man  was  not  to  be  stopped,  neither 
turned  aside.  Uttering  some  words  of  Indian  magic,  he  rode 
his  horse  over  the  precipice;  but,  to  the  astonishment  of  his 
friends,  instead  of  being  dashed  to  pieces  at  the  bottom,  he  was 
gently  borne  across  the  chasm  to  the  opposite  bank  of  the 
stream,  where,  finding  himself  alone,  he  turned  his  horse  to 
look  for  his  friends,  whom  he  beheld  at  the  top  of  the  bluff, 
afraid  to  follow  and  too  proud  to  go  around.  To  relieve 
them  from  their  unpleasant  position,  he  rode  back  and  to  the 
bottom  of  the  perpendicular  wall  of  rock,  which  rent  at  his 
approach,  dividing  the  bluff  into  two  parts  by  forming  a  chasm 
through  the  cliff  several  feet  in  width,  through  and  up  which 
he  rode,  rejoining  his  companions  at  the  top,  who  then  followed 


1  Battey's  Quaker  among  Indians,  302-3. 


368  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

him  down  through  the  pass  thus  made,  now  known  as  the 
Medicine-Man's  Pass.1  Wood,  in  his  "  New  England  Pros 
pect,"  says,  "  The  Indians  report  of  one  Passaconnaw  that  hee 
can  make  the  water  burne,  the  rocks  move,  the  trees  dance,  and 
metamorphose  himself  into  a  flaming  man.  Hee  will  do  more; 
for  in  winter,  when  there  are  no  green  leaves  to  be  got,  he  will 
burne  an  old  one  to  ashes,  and,  putting  those  into  the  water, 
produce  a  new  green  leaf,  which  you  shall  not  only  see,  but 
substantially  handle  and  carrie  away;  and  make  of  a  dead 
snake's  skin  a  living  snake,  both  to  be  seen,  felt,  and  heard. 
This  I  write  but  upon  the  report  of  the  Indians,  who  confidently 
affirm  stranger  things."  Thomas  Morton,  writing  of  the  same 
man,  says  he  was  "  a  Powah  of  great  estimation  amongst  all 
kinde  of  salvages ;  he  has  been  scene  by  our  English  in  the 
heat  of  summer  to  make  ice  appear  in  a  bowle  of  faire  water; 
first  having  the  water  set  before  him,  he  began  his  incantations 
according  to  their  usual  accustom,  and  before  the  same  had  bin 
ended,  a  thick  clowde  darkened  the  aire,  and  on  a  sodaine  a 
thunder  clap  was  heard  that  amazed  the  natives.  In  an  instant 
he  showed  a  firme  piece  of  ice.  It  floted  in  the  middle  of  the 
bowle  in  the  presence  of  the  vulgar  people,  which  doubtless 
was  done  by  the  agency  of  Satan,  his  consort." 

Those  dwelling  about  St.  Francis  River  could  make  their 
rods  to  bud  and  shoot  forth  green  branches.  They  could  meta 
morphose  themselves  at  pleasure.  They  were  thought  in  many 
tribes  to  have  power  to  bring  the  dead  to  life. 

They  so  imposed  on  the  Roman  Catholic  priests,  who  were 
predisposed  to  accept  superstitions,  that  many  of  them  believed 
most  implicitly  in  their  supernatural  powers.  One  of  them  who 
labored  among  the  Kootenais  says  he  saw  one  of  their  sorcerers 
command  a  mountain-sheep  to  fall  dead,  and  the  animal,  then 
leaping  among  the  rocks,  fell  lifeless.  "  This  I  saw  with  my  own 
eyes,"  says  he,  "  and  ate  of  the  animal  afterward.  It  was  un- 
wounded,  healthy,  and  perfectly  wild."2 

1  Battey's  Quaker  among  Indians,  62,  63.  2  Beach,  76-78. 


PRIESTCRAFT.  369 

Ascription  of  supernatural  power  often  occurs  on  account  of 
the  possession  of  some  mysterious  object  which  is  supposed  to 
have  a  powerful  spirit  within  it.  Mr.  Adair  mentions  a  case 
among  the  Southern  tribes  in  which  a  sorcerer  had  gained 
much  distinction  and  had  imposed  upon  the  people  by  the  use 
of  a  carbuncle  nearly  as  big  as  an  egg,  which  reflected  the  light 
with  such  strong  flashes  as  to  inspire  terror  in  the  minds  of  the 
superstitious  natives.1  Mr.  Du  Pratz,  while  among  the  natives 
of  Louisiana,  attained  great  distinction  as  a  sorcerer  by  drawing 
down  fire  from  the  sun,  to  use  their  language,  with  a  burning- 
glass.  Some  of  the  sorcerers  among  the  Western  tribes  im 
posed  upon  the  Indians  by  pretending  to  eat  fire  which  they 
placed  in  their  mouth  and  then  extinguished  the  flame.2  A 
sorcerer  among  the  Cherokees  who  had  been  removed  to  the 
Western  country  had  a  knife  which  was  magnetized,  and  he 
influenced  the  tribe  to  do  as  he  wished  by  imposing  on  them 
by  this  mystery.  Whatever  he  wished  them  to  do  he  would 
announce  when  he  was  attracting  the  mineral  substance. 

They  often  impose  on  the  people  by  finding  out  ahead  of  the 
tribe  that  an  enemy  is  coming,  and  announce  it  as  though  it 
was  revelation.  Whatever  they  conjecture  or  learn  from  secret 
intelligence  they  predict  as  about  to  happen,  with  infinite  pom 
posity,  and  are  listened  to  with  as  much  attention  as  though 
they  were  really  inspired.  When  they  call  their  spiritual  agents, 
they  retire  into  a  tent,  mutter  awhile,  then  command,  and  the 
shade  comes,  which  they  interrogate,  and,  changing  the  voice, 
give  the  answers,  and  every  one  present  believes.  Before  a 
battle,  they  ride  around  the  ranks  with  fierce  countenance, 
imprecating  evil  on  their  enemies.  On  account  of  this  cere 
mony,  if  victory  comes,  the  best  part  of  the  spoils  is  adjudged 
to  them  as  the  fruit  of  their  office.  Whatever  they  wish  they 
extort  from  these  credulous  people.  If  they  imagine  them 
selves  injured  by  any,  they  will  command  the  persons  to  come 
to  them  and  then  lacerate  them  till  the  blood  streams  from 

1  American  Indians,  87.  2  Lee  and  Frost,  164. 


3/0  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

their  body.  They  keep  the  people  in  dread  by  threatening  to 
turn  into  a  wild  beast  and  tear  them  to  pieces.  This  they  be 
lieve  they  are  able  to  do,  and  if  they  begin  to  roar  like  some 
ferocious  animal  the  people  will  fly  in  every  direction. 

The  belief  in  shamanism  is  universal  in  Alaska.  The  words 
and  actions  of  the  shaman,  or  sorcerer,  are  considered  infallible 
by  the  Thlinkeets,  and  believed  implicitly  by  them.  A  shaman 
has  the  faculty  not  only  of  calling  spirits  from  the  vasty  deep, 
but  also  the  power  to  make  them  come  when  he  calls  for  them. 
Their  mode  of  initiation  is  to  retire  to  some  forest  or  mountain 
and  fast.  Here  the  river-otter  is  said  to  come  and  visit  them, 
from  whom  they  get  the  secret  of  their  profession.  If  the 
novitiate  fails  in  this  way,  he  repairs  to  the  grave  of  some 
shaman,  and  remains  over-night  with  a  tooth  or  finger  of  the 
corpse  in  his  mouth.  Some  of  these  shamans  control  a  large 
number  of  spirits,  and  these  he  can  command  at  will.1 

Among  the  Chukchees  and  Koriaks,  the  head  of  every  family 
performs  the  office  of  shaman.2  This  is  evidence  of  their 
having  made  little  progress  from  their  primitive  condition. 

Among  the  more  barbarous  tribes  the  priestly  office  had 
never  been  separated  from  that  of  doctor  and  conjurer.  Among 
a  few  of  the  tribes  occupying  the  territory  of  the  United  States 
a  division  of  these  offices  had  begun  to  take  place.  The  Chero- 
kees  appointed  every  year  one  of  their  tribe  to  make  the  sac 
rifices  for  the  people.3  The  office  of  priesthood  appears  to 
have  just  been  instituted  among  them.  One  family  of  the  tribe 
was  set  apart  for  this  office.  He,  however,  continued  to  per 
form  the  office  of  "  medicine-man"  and  sorcerer.  He  also  in 
terpreted  omens  and  baptized  their  infants  soon  after  birth, 
which  was  a  custom  from  time  immemorial  among  them.  A 
priesthood  had  been  established  among  the  Powhatans  of  Vir 
ginia,  and  many  of  the  tricks  of  these  priests  were  discovered  by 
the  Europeans.  They  made  the  idols  move  and  talk  as  they 


1  Ball's  Alaska,  424-26.  3  Ib.,  513. 

3  i  Logan's  South  Carolina,  26. 


PRIESTCRAFT.  371 

pleased,  by  being  concealed  in  them,  whilst  another  priest  kept 
back  the  people,  who  were  filled  with  curiosity,  from  discov 
ering  and  profaning  by  their  presence  the  holy  of  holies.  These 
priests  were  celibates.  The  natives  of  Florida  had  priests  who 
communed  with  invisible  spirits  and  who  alone  were  allowed 
within  the  temple  with  their  gods.1  The  Florida  priests 
were  trained  to  their  business  by  severe  fasting,  which  induces 
visions  and  a  supposed  intimate  correspondence  with  the  deities. 

Among  the  Ojibways,  the  medicine-men  appear  to  have 
formed  a  secret  society  with  a  ceremony  of  initiation.  They 
held 'secret  convocations,  which  were  held  in  high  veneration 
by  their  deluded  brethren.  The  chiefs  never  undertook  any 
thing  of  importance  without  consulting  such  a  convocation. 
Among  the  Dacotahs,  a  sacred  language  had  sprung  up  among 
their  sorcerers,  who  had  not  yet,  however,  attained  to  a  priestly 
dignity.2 

Among  the  Eskimos,  the  angekok  was  sorcerer,  doctor,  and 
priest.  They  had,  however,  formed  a  caste  in  this  world  and 
in  the  next.  The  ordinary  sorcerers  did  not  rank  with  these 
angekoks,  but  were  an  inferior  order  who  worked  injuries  to  the 
people.  The  angekoks,  before  assuming  the  office,  retired  to 
a  secluded  spot  and  fasted  until  they  dreamed  of  beasts  and 
monsters,  which  they  supposed  to  be  real  spiritual  existences 
and  became  familiar  spirits.3  It  will  be  noticed  that  these  ange 
koks  went  through  the  same  ceremony  for  obtaining  their 
spiritual  agent  which  every  Indian  did  among  the  other  wild 
tribes  of  America;  but  among  the  Eskimos  it  seems  to  have 
been  confined  to  the  angekoks.  It  shows  they  had  taken  one 
step  in  advance  of  the  neighboring  tribes  in  the  establishment 
of  a  priestly  hierarchy.  The  surrender  of  this  primitive  custom 
to  the  angekoks  is  quite  significant.  They  used  the  superiority 
which  they  had  begun  to  acquire  to  fasten  their  impostures 
upon  the  people,  for  they  admitted  to  Europeans,  says  Mr. 
Crantz,  that  their  pretended  intercourse  with  the  spiritual  world 

1  Bartram's  Travels,  497.  2  Eastman's  Chicora,  16.  3  i  Crantz,  194. 


372  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

was  a  pretence  to  deceive  the  simple,  and  they  avowed  the 
falsehood  of  apparitions.1 

The  Caribs  had  a  priesthood,  and  put  all  candidates  for  it 
through  a  pretty  severe  discipline.  They  fasted,  became  intox 
icated  with  tobacco-juice,  and  did  all  other  acts  which  prepared 
their  minds,  as  they  thought,  to  consult  the  genii.  They  always 
practised  their  art  in  the  night-time,  where  and  when  their 
imposture  could  not  be  discovered. 

Persons  whose  constitutional  unsoundness  induces  morbid 
manifestations  are  indeed  marked  out  by  nature  to  become 
seers  and  sorcerers.  Among  the  Patagonians,  patients  seized 
with  falling  sickness  or  St.  Vitus's  dance  were  at  once  selected 
for  magicians,  as  chosen  by  the  spirits  themselves,  who  pos 
sessed  and  convulsed  them.2 

Traces  of  a  priestly  language  are  found  among  a  few  of  the 
tribes.  In  Peru,  the  priests  conducted  the  temple  services  in  a 
language  not  understood  by  the  masses,  and  the  incantations 
of  the  priests  of  Powhatan  were  not  in  ordinary  Algonkin,  but 
some  obscure  jargon.  The  same  peculiarity  has  been  observed, 
and  heretofore  noticed,  among  the  Dacotahs  and  Eskimos ;  but 
linguistic  scholars,  on  searching,  have  found  them  among  the 
last  two  tribes  to  be  the  ordinary  dialects  of  the  country, 
"  modified  by  an  affected  accentuation,  and  by  the  introduction 
of  a  few  cabalistic  terms,  which  have  made  a  slang  such  as 
rascals  and  pedants  are  very  apt  to  coin."  3 

Among  the  most  civilized  aboriginal  peoples  a  priesthood 
was  found  exercising  all  the  offices  assumed  by  them  in  the 
Old  World  civilizations.  The  attendants  on  the  Peruvian 
temples  composed  an  army  of  themselves.  The  whole  number 
of  functionaries  who  officiated  at  the  Coricancha  alone  was  no 
less  than  four  thousand.4  Among  the  religious  ceremonies 
which  occupied  the  priestly  caste  were  baptism,  confirmation, 
holy  orders,  extreme  unction. 


I  Crantz,  195-97.  a  Falkner's  Patagonia,  Il6. 

Brinton's  Myths,  303-4.  4  i  Prescott's  Peru,  100. 


PRIESTCRAFT.  373 

Baptism  was  general  among  all  the  Peruvian  nations  west  of 
the  Andes,  and  in  some  provinces  took  place  two  or  three 
weeks  after  birth.  In  the  southern  provinces  two  years  elapsed. 
All  the  relatives  were  assembled  at  this  ceremony.  On  the 
day  of  the  birth,  the  water  with  which  the  infant  was  washed 
was  poured  into  a  hole  in  the  earth  in  the  presence  of  a  priest, 
who  pronounced  cabalistic  words  over  the  newly-born,  intended 
to  conjure  away  and  exorcise  all  future  malign  influence. 
When  the  child  attained  puberty,  confirmation  took  place, 
which  consisted  in  imposing  a  new  name  and  cutting  the  hair 
and  finger-nails  of  the  confirmed  and  sacrificing  them  to  the 
Huacas.  It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  these  and  all  other  parts 
of  the  body  were  superstitiously  preserved  from  the  possession 
of  any  one,  and  the  dedication  of  these  parts  of  the  body  to  a 
deity  was  a  solemn  act  of  worship  undoubtedly  with  them, 
however  ridiculous  it  may  appear  to  us.  Penance  was  prac 
tised  before  the  principal  feasts,  when  they  confessed  their  sins  to 
a  priest  after  they  had  previously  fasted  several  days.  Confes 
sion  began  in  this  strain  :  "  Hear  me,  highlands,  plains,  condors, 
owls,  grubs,  and  all  animals  and  herbs,  know  that  I  wish  to 
confess  my  sins."  This  is  nonsensical,  unless  we  recollect  that 
they  worshipped  the  things  addressed,  and  hence  they  were 
confessing  to  their  gods.  After  the  confession  had  been  made, 
they  went  through  ordeals  to  prove  whether  they  had  concealed 
anything.  By  one  of  these  ordeals  they  were  required  to  throw 
a  handful  of  corn  into  a  vessel,  and  if  there  was  an  even  num 
ber  of  grains  the  confession  had  been  well  made,  otherwise  not. 
Penance  consisted  in  abstinence  from  many  pleasures  for  a  sea 
son,  and  occasionally  in  corporal  punishment.  Sometimes  they 
were  forced  to  put  on  new  garments,  in  order  that  the  sins  might 
be  left  in  the  old  ones.  A  priest  assisted  the  dying  by  mutter 
ing  incantations  against  the  power  of  evil  spirits.  Holy  orders, 
or  the  ceremony  of  the  consecration  of  priests,  was  a  matter  of 
the  highest  importance  among  the  ancient  Peruvians.  The 
priesthood  contained  a  number  of  orders.  The  greatest  respect 
was  commanded  by  those  of  the  sun ;  but  each  Huaca  had  its 


374  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

priest,  who  was  respected  in  proportion  as  the  Huaca  was 
venerated.  His  occupation  was  to  take  care  of  the  deity,  and 
watch  in  his  temple  on  the  spot  where  his  image  was  erected, 
to  speak  with  him,  and  repeat  his  answers  to  the  people,  pre 
sent  their  offerings,  make  sacrifices,  celebrate  their  feasts,  and 
teach  their  worship.  Such  employments  occupied  the  priests 
of  the  dead.  The  Conopas  also  had  priests,  who  interpreted 
their  will  and  offered  sacrifices  when  brought  to  them.  The 
soothsayers  and  wizards  formed  a  particular  subdivision  of  the 
priesthood.  Those  most  esteemed  were  the  Socyac,  who  pre 
dicted  the  future  by  means  of  small  heaps  of  corn  ;  the  Paccha- 
cuti,  who  divined  by  means  of  spiders'  feet ;  the  Hacaricue, 
who  foretold  by  the  blood  and  intestines  of  rabbits ;  the  Pichi- 
uricue,  who  observed  the  flight  of  birds;  the  Moscoc,  who  in 
terpreted  dreams,  sleeping  by  the  clothes  of  him  who  consulted 
them,  and  receiving  in  a  dream  the  answer.1 

The  Peruvian  priests  also  acted  as  prophets,  and  could  give 
an  account  of  that  which  was  done  in  very  remote  parts  before 
any  news  thereof  was  brought.  The  battles  that  were  fought, 
rebellions  that  broke  out,  and  other  remarkable  accidents  that 
happened  at  three  hundred  leagues'  distance,  they  pretended  to 
know  the  same  day.  They  could  also  find  stolen  goods.2 

Great  was  the  surprise  of  the  first  Spanish  ecclesiastics,  who 
found,  on  reaching  Mexico,  a  priesthood  as  regularly  organized 
as  that  of  the  most  civilized  countries  of  the  Old  World. 
Clothed  with  a  powerful  and  effective  authority,  which  ex 
tended  its  arms  to  man  in  every  condition  and  in  all  the  stages 
of  his  life,  the  Mexican  priests  were  mediators  between  man 
and  divinity.  They  brought  the  newly-born  infants  into  the 
religious  society ;  they  directed  their  training  and  education; 
they  determined  the  entrance  of  the  young  men  into  the  ser 
vice  of  the  state  ;  they  consecrated  marriage  by  their  blessing; 
they  comforted  the  sick  and  assisted  the  dying.  This  sacer 
dotal  authority  also  manifested  itself  in  a  species  of  confession, 


Rivero  and  Tschucli,  182-84.  2  4  Herrera,  353. 


PRIESTCRAFT.  375 

which  prevailed  in  Mexico  as  well  as  elsewhere,  and  concerning 
which  the  dogma  obtained  that  a  wrong  or  sin  confessed  to  the 
priest  and  expiated  through  the  medium  of  a  penance  imposed 
by  him  was  blotted  out  and  placed  beyond  the  reach  of  human 
justice  or  secular  power.1 

As  many  as  five  thousand  priests  were  attached  to  the  prin 
cipal  temple  in  Mexico.  The  various  ranks  and  functions  of 
this  multitudinous  body  were  discriminated  with  great  exact 
ness.  Those  best  instructed  in  music  took  the  management  of 
the  choirs.  Others  arranged  the  festivals  conformably  to  the 
calendar.  Some  superintended  the  education  of  youth,  and 
others  had  charge  of  the  hieroglyphical  paintings  and  oral  tra 
ditions  ;  while  the  dismal  rites  of  sacrifice  were  reserved  for  the 
chief  dignitaries  of  the  order.  At  the  head  of  the  whole  estab 
lishment  were  two  high-priests,  equal  in  dignity,  and  with  whom 
the  sovereign  advised  in  weighty  matters  of  public  concern. 
While  engaged  in  immediate  attendance  at  the  temples,  they 
lived  in  conventual  discipline ;  but  they  were  allowed  to  marry. 
Thrice  during  the  day  and  once  at  night,  when  in  active  duty, 
they  were  called  to  prayers.  They  practised  flagellation,  and 
pierced  their  flesh  with  the  thorns  of  the  aloe, — 

"  In  hopes  to  merit  heaven  by  making  earth  a  hell." 

The  great  cities  were  divided  into  districts,  and  placed  under 
the  charge  of  a  parochial  clergy,  who  regulated  every  act  of 
religion  within  their  precincts,  and  administered  the  rites  of 
confession  and  absolution.  Priestly  absolution  was  received  in 
place  of  the  legal  punishment  of  offences,  and  authorized  an 
acquittal  in  case  of  arrest.2  The  sick  deemed  it  an  indispensable 
condition  to  their  recovery  that  every  secret  crime  should  be 
confessed  to  the  priest.3 

In  all  the  towns  of  the  Mexican  empire  there  were  as  many 
complete  sets  of  priests  as  there  were  temples.  Some  took 


1  Rivero  and  Tschudi,  19,  20.  2  I  Prescott's  Mexico,  66,  68. 

3  i  Bancroft,  124. 


376  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

charge  of  the  sacrifices,  others  were  skilled  in  the  art  of  divina 
tion.  Others  applied  themselves  to  the  composition  of  hymns. 
Those  learned  in  science  superintended  the  schools  and  col 
leges.  Those  who  possessed  literary  talent  compiled  the  his 
torical  works  and  collected  material  for  the  libraries.  There 
were  monasteries  for  each  sex.  In  those  for  females  they  were 
under  surveillance  of  a  number  of  staid  matrons  of  good  char 
acter.  On  entering  the  monastery,  each  girl  had  her  hair  cut 
short.  They  all  slept  in  one  dormitory,  and  did  not  undress 
at  night,  in  order  that  they  might  be  ready  to  rise  at  ten  o'clock, 
midnight,  and  dawn,  for  religious  ceremonies.  On  these  occa 
sions  a  matron  led  the  procession  :  with  eyes  bent  on  the  ground, 
the  maidens  filed  up  one  side  of  the  temple,  while  the  priests 
did  the  same  on  the  other,  so  that  all  met  before  the  altar.  In 
a  pantheon  of  as  many  divinities  as  that  of  the  Mexican,  and 
where  all  the  phenomena  of  nature  are  attributed  to  some  one 
or  more  of  these  divinities,  it  can  be  easily  understood  why  a 
religious  machinery,  intricate  and  ponderous,  should  be  re 
quired  to  propitiate  the  anger,  humor  the  whims,  and  beseech 
the  favor  of  such  a  vast  number  of  capricious  and  active  deities. 
The  priests  often  went  to  the  king  and  told  him  to  remember 
the  idols,  who  were  starving  with  hunger,  whereupon  the 
princes  sent  to  one  another  to  prepare  for  war,  because  their 
gods  demanded  something  to  eat.  Then  they  marched  out 
and  fought,  only  endeavoring  to  take  prisoners,  that  they  might 
have  men  to  feed  the  gods.1 

We  hear  from  the  accounts  we  have  received  that  there 
were  some  celebrated  preachers  among  the  priests,  and  silvery- 
tongued  orators  played  as  successfully  upon  the  emotions  of 
the  Mexicans  as  do  our  modern  revivalists.  Herrera  says, 
"  They  had  priests  who  preached  dreadfully  in  the  temples, 
putting  men  into  horrid  frights,  by  which  means  they  moved 
them  to  do  whatever  they  directed."  2 

The  vast  number  of  the  Mexican  priests,  their  enormous 

1  3  Herrera,  213.  2  3  ib.,  255. 


PRIESTCRAFT. 


377 


wealth,  and  the  blind  zeal  of  the  people,  all  combined  to  render 
the  sacerdotal  power  extremely  formidable.  The  king  himself 
performed  the  functions  of  high-priest  on  certain  occasions,  and 
frequently  held  some  sacred  office  before  succeeding  to  the 
throne.  The  heads  of  church  and  state  seem  to  have  worked 
amicably  together,  and  to  have  united  their  power  to  keep  the 
masses  in  subjection.  The  sovereign  took  no  step  of  impor 
tance  without  first  consulting  the  high-priests,  to  learn  whether 
the  gods  were  favorable  to  the  project.  In  Tezcuco  and  Tla- 
copan  the  pontifical  dignity  was  always  conferred  upon  the 
second  son  of  the  king.  In  Mexico  a  supervisor  over  the  wor 
ship  of  the  gods  stood  next  in  rank  to  the  two  high-priests. 
Among  other  dignitaries  of  their  religious  system  were  the 
chief  of  the  sacrificers,  who  inherited  his  office,  the  keeper 
of  relics  and  ornaments,  the  composer  of  hymns,  the  musical 
director,  the  treasurer,  master  over  temple-property,  and  num 
bers  of  masters  of  special  ceremonies. 

The  ordinary  Mexican  priests  dressed  in  a  black  cotton  cloth, 
which  hung  from  the  back  of  the  head  like  a  veil.  Their  hair 
was  left  uncut  and  painted  black.  Reed  sandals  protected  their 
feet.  There  were  certain  orders,  however,  which  varied  from 
this.  They  were  engaged  a  great  part  of  the  time  with  hymn- 
chanting  and  incense-burning.  They  also  took  the  auguries, 
among  which  the  priest  went  through  the  ceremony  of  sprink 
ling  snuff  on  the  altar  in  order  to  discover  whether  the  gods 
would  favor  any  national  enterprise.  If  shortly  afterward  any 
footprint  of  an  animal,  particularly  that  of  an  eagle,  was  found 
impressed  in  the  snuff,  it  was  regarded  as  a  mark  of  divine 
favor,  and  great  was  the  shouting  when  the  priest  announced 
the  augury.1  We  here  see  how  the  priests  utilized  the  supersti 
tions  of  the  people  in  reference  to  the  agency  of  animal  spirits. 

Among  the  Mexicans,  each  temple  had  its  own  lands  and 
possessions,  and  even  its  own  peasants  to  cultivate  them. 
Thence  was  drawn  all  that  was  necessary  for  the  maintenance 

1  3  Bancroft,  431-38. 


378  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

of  the  priests,  together  with  the  wood  which  was  consumed  in 
great  quantities  in  the  temples.  A  tract  of  country  which 
went  under  the  name  of  Teotlalpan  (land  of  the  gods)  was  un 
doubtedly  so  named  from  being  the  possession  of  the  temples. 
There  were,  besides  these,  daily  offerings  from  the  devout,  of 
provisions.  Near  the  temples  there  were  granaries  for  the  pro 
visions  of  the  priesthood.  The  annual  overplus,  if  any,  was 
distributed  to  the  poor.  The  priesthood  received  nearly  as 
much  homage  as  the  deities  themselves.1 

The  office  of  anointing  kings  was  assumed  by  the  two  high- 
priests.  The  new  king,  with  no  covering  except  the  girdle, 
ascended  the  temple  of  Huitzilopochtli,  where  he  was  met  by 
one  of  the  high-priests,  who  dyed  his  body  with  a  certain  kind 
of  ink  and  sprinkled  him  four  times  with  water  which  had  been 
blessed.  The  king  was  then  clothed  with  a  mantle  on  which 
were  pictured  skeletons  of  the  dead,  and  a  medicine-bag  tied  to 
his  neck  containing  charms  against  disease;  after  which  he  took 
an  oath  to  maintain  their  ancient  religion.  The  priest  then  in 
structed  him  in  his  duties  as  sovereign.  The  king  during  all 
this  ceremony  was  upon  his  knees  before  the  priest.  The 
Mexican  schools  and  seminaries  were  annexed  to  the  temples, 
and  the  instruction  of  the  young  of  both  sexes  was  a  mo 
nopoly  in  the  hands  of  the  priests.  Generally  the  boys  were 
sent  there  between  the  ages  of  six  and  nine  years,  and  were 
dressed  in  black.2  The  seminaries  for  girls  were  guarded  day 
and  night  by  old  men,  and  the  maidens  could  not  even  leave 
their  apartments  without  a  guard.  They  were  taught  the 
tenets  of  their  religion,  and  swept  the  temples  and  attended  to 
the  sacred  fire.  They  also  learned  how  to  make  feather-work 
and  spin  and  weave  mantles.3 

The  priests  did  not  fail  to  assume  an  important  part  in  mar 
riage  ceremonies,  the  most  important  part  in  which  was  the 
address  of  the  priest  to  the  betrothed  couple,  in  which  he  de 
fined  their  duties  to  each  other.  He  exhorted  them  to  be 

1  I  Clavigcro,  269-70.  -  2  Bancroft,  243.  3  2  ib.,  245. 


PRIESTCRAFT. 


379 


faithful  to  one  another  and  maintain  peace  and  harmony  be 
tween  themselves.  He  then  tied  the  end  of  the  man's  mantle 
to  the  dress  of  the  woman.  After  congratulations,  they  pro 
ceeded  to  the  temple,  where  the  priest  perfumed  them,  then  led 
them  to  the  altar  and  placed  a  finely-woven  shawl  on  each  of 
their  shoulders,  in  the  centre  of  which  was  painted  a  skeleton, 
as  a  symbol  that  death  only  could  now  separate  them  from 
each  other.  He  then  perfumed  them  again,  and  led  them  to 
the  door  of  the  temple.  Four  days  were  spent  in  penance  and 
religious  ceremonies,  after  which  their  couch  was  prepared  by 
two  priests  and  the  marriage  consummated.1 

Among  the  Mexicans,  every  distinguished  man  had  a  priest 
or  chaplain  to  perform  the  ceremonies  within  his  house,  and 
when  he  died  the  chaplain  was  killed,  to  serve  him  in  the  same 
manner  in  the  other  world.2 

The  Mexican  priests  had  to  consecrate  the  ground  on  which 
they  played  their  national  game  of  ball,  somewhat  similar  to 
tennis.  This  they  did  by  blessing  it  and  then  throwing  the 
ball  four  times  about  the  court,  when  it  might  be  played,  but 
not  before.3 

Cortes  says  the  priests  were  very  strict  in  the  practice  of 
honesty  and  chastity,  and  any  deviation  was  punished  with 
death,  and  he  was  very  desirous  that  the  vice  and  profanity  of 
the  Spanish  clergy  should  be  concealed  from  them  as  much  as 
possible,  that  they  might  not  be  led  to  undervalue  the  Chris 
tian  faith. 

It  must  have  been  an  imposing  sight  to  behold  in  Cam- 
peachy  the  priests,  arrayed  in  long  white  mantles,  perfuming 
the  Spaniards  with  burning  gum  and  bidding  them  depart.4 

A  tradition  of  the  Mexicans  would  appear  to  indicate  a 
period  when  sorcery  was  supplanted  by  their  elaborate  system 
of  priestcraft.  On  departing  from  Michoacan,  they  left  behind 
a  sorceress  who  was  worshipped  by  the  people  at  the  instiga- 


1  2  Bancroft,  257-59.  2  3  Herrera,  220. 

3  2  ib.,  341.  4  Cortes,  Despatches,  7. 


380  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

tion  of  an  idol  which  had  four  priests  connected  with  it.  This 
woman,  seeing  herself  abandoned,  founded  a  town  called  Mali- 
nalco,  and  ever  after,  the  inhabitants  of  that  place  were  looked 
upon  as  great  sorcerers.  That  part  of  the  nation  which  pro 
ceeded  toward  Mexico  appears  to  have  fallen  completely  under 
the  dominion  of  the  four  priests,  who  gave  laws,  and  without 
whose  approbation  nothing  was  done,  and  who  spoke  through 
their  idol,  which  they  carried  on  their  shoulders.1 

The  Zapotecs  were  a  priest-ridden  people.  Their  priests 
possessed  great  power,  secular  as  well  as  sacerdotal.  Among 
the  Zapotecs,  the  wedding-day  had  to  be  fixed  by  the  priest.2 
Yopaa,  one  of  their  principal  cities,  was  ruled  absolutely  by  a 
pontiff,  in  whom  the  Zapotec  monarchs  had  a  powerful  rival. 
It  is  impossible  to  overrate  the  reverence  in  which  this  spiritual 
king  was  held.  He  was  looked  upon  as  a  god  whom  the  earth 
was  not  worthy  to  hold  or  the  sun  to  shine  upon.  He  pro 
faned  his  sanctity  if  he  so  much  as  touched  the  ground  with 
his  foot.  The  officers  who  bore  his  palanquin  upon  their 
shoulders  were  members  of  the  first  Zapotec  families.  He 
scarcely  deigned  to  look  upon  anything  about  him.  He  never 
appeared  in  public  except  with  the  most  extraordinary  pomp, 
and  all  who  met  him  fell  with  their  faces  to  the  ground,  fearing 
death  would  overtake  them  were  they  to  look  upon  holy 
Wiyatal,  as  he  was  called.  The  most  powerful  lords  never 
entered  his  presence  except  with  eyes  lowered  and  feet  bared. 
Continence  was  strictly  imposed  upon  the  Zapotec  priests,  but 
this  high  pontiff  was  an  exception,  because  no  one  could  furnish 
him  with  a  worthy  successor,  who  must  be  of  his  own  gener 
ating.  On  certain  days  in  each  year  this  high-priest  became 
drunk,  and  while  in  this  state  one  of  the  most  beautiful  virgins 
consecrated  to  the  service  of  the  gods  was  brought  to  him, 
and  if  the  result  of  this  holy  debauch  proved  to  be  a  male  in 
fant,  it  inherited  his  position.3 

Among  the  Zapotecs  there  was  a  class  of  priests  who  made 

1  3  Herrera,  190-91.  =3  ib.,  262.  3  2  Bancroft,  142-43. 


PRIESTCRAFT.  381 

the  interpreting  of  dreams  their  special  province.  Each  form 
of  divination  was  made  a  special  study.  Some  professed  to 
foretell  the  future  by  the  aid  of  stars,  earth,  wind,  fire,  or 
water,  others  by  the  flight  of  birds,  by  the  entrails  of  sacrificial 
victims,  or  by  magic  signs  and  circles.  There  were  hermits 
who  passed  their  entire  lives  in  religious  ecstasy  and  medita 
tion,  shut  up  in  dark  caves  or  rude  huts  with  no  human  com 
panions.1 

Among  the  Mayas,  the  temporal  power  of  the  priesthood 
was  even  greater  than  among  the  Nahua  nations.  Votan, 
Zamna,  Cuculcan,  and  all  the  other  semi-mythical  founders  of 
the  Maya  civilization  united  in  their  persons  the  qualities  of 
high-priest  and  king,  and  from  their  time  to  the  coming  of  the 
Spaniards  ecclesiastical  and  secular  authority  marched  hand  in 
hand.  The  Itzas,  at  Chichen,  were  ruled  in  the  earlier  times  by 
a  theocratic  government,  and  later  the  high-priest  of  the  empire 
of  the  royal  family  of  the  Cheles  became  king  of  Izamal,  which 
became  the  sacred  city  and  headquarters  of  ecclesiastical  dig 
nitaries.  The  gigantic  mounds  still  seen  at  Izamal  are  tradition 
ally  the  tombs  of  both  kings  and  priests.  The  priests  were 
allowed  to  marry,  and  the  office  of  high-priest  was  hereditary. 
Mictlan  was  another  great  religious  centre  and  a  shrine  much 
visited  by  pilgrims.  Here  a  sacerdotal  hierarchy,  hereditary  in 
one  family,  ruled.  Thus  we  see  that  while  the  priesthood  had 
great  power  over  even  the  highest  secular  rulers  in  all  the 
Maya  nations,  yet  the  system  by  which  the  high-priests  were 
members  of  the  royal  families  rendered  their  power  a  support 
to  that  royalty  rather  than  a  cause  of  fear.2 

The  Mayas  intrusted  the  more  advanced  education  of  youth 
entirely  to  the  priesthood.  The  youths  assisted  the  priests  in 
their  religious  duties.  Girls  were  placed  in  convents  under 
the  superintendence  of  matrons,  who  were  most  strict  in  their 
guardianship.  In  all  the  educational  institutions  of  Yucatan 
the  mysteries  of  astrology,  divination,  prophecy,  and  medicine 

1  2  Bancroft,  201-13.  a  2  ib.,  647-48. 

25 


382  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

formed  a  great  part  of  the  instruction,  and  the  youth  of  both 
sexes  were  familiarized  with  religious  rite  and  ceremony.1 
Among  the  Mayas,  no  one  could  marry  who  had  not  been  bap 
tized,  and,  as  the  ceremony  was  elaborate  connected  with  bap 
tism,  and  no  one  could  officiate  thereat  but  a  priest,  we  can  see 
that  it  would  have  required  a  large  body  of  clergy  to  attend  to 
these  ceremonies.  This  was  remedied  to  some  extent,  how 
ever,  by  selecting  five  of  the  most  honored  men  of  the  town  to 
assist  the  priests  in  these  ceremonies.2  The  Maya  priests  ap 
pear  to  have  retained  a  primitive  fetichistic  superstition,  for  they 
had  medicine-bags  in  which  they  kept  fetiches  of  different 
kinds.  They  also  appear  to  have  had  a  superstitious  feeling  in 
reference  to  their  pictographic  manuscripts.3 

A  division  of  labor  appears  to  have  separated  to  some  extent 
the  ecclesiastical  forces  of  the  Mayas.  The  doctors  were  evi 
dently  a  class  distinct  from  the  priesthood  proper,  although  the 
priests  do  not  appear  to  have  yielded  entirely  the  practice  of 
medicine.  Especially  did  they  retain  control  over  confessionals, 
which  were  considered  as  a  means  for  the  cure  of  disease. 
The  doctors  practised  phlebotomy,  drawing  blood  from  those 
parts  of  the  patient's  body  where  the  pain  or  malady  lay. 
They  believed  disease  was  caused  by  spirits,  and  the  practice 
of  blood-letting  and  this  primitive  superstition  are  closely  con 
nected  with  each  other.  By  a  strange  coincidence,  blood-letting 
is  found  to  be  a  cure  for  certain  diseases,  and  is  retained  in  the 
medical  practice  of  the  present  day;  but  with  the  primitive 
peoples  it  was  nothing  but  a  superstition,  and,  with  emetics, 
was  the  only  cure,  exclusive  of  spiritual  influence.  The  Mayas, 
like  the  Nahuas,  believed  implicitly  in  the  power  of  witches 
and  wizards.  The  priests  of  Yucatan  exercised  even  a  greater 
influence  over  the  people  than  those  of  Mexico.  In  order  to 
retain  this  power,  they  appealed  to  the  religious  side  of  the 
people's  character  by  thundering  sermons  and  solemn  rites. 
The  king  himself,  when  he  paid  his  annual  visit  to  the  high- 

1  2  Bancroft,  663-64.  a  2  ib.,  682.  3  2  ib.,  697. 


PRIESTCRAFT.  383 

priest  to  inaugurate  the  offering  of  first-fruits,  set  an  example 
of  humility  by  kneeling  before  the  pontiff  and  reverently  kiss 
ing  his  hand.1 

The  priests  decided  what  trade  a  child  should  learn. 

The  priesthood  of  Yucatan  were  divided  into  classes,  who 
performed  different  offices.  Some  preached,  some  taught,  some 
were  sacrificers.  Others  construed  the  oracles  of  the  gods, 
and  accordingly  exercised  great  influence  and  held  the  highest 
place  in  the  estimation  of  the  people,  before  whom  they  ap 
peared  in  state,  borne  in  litters.  The  sorcerers  and  medicine 
men  foretold  fortunes  and  cured  diseases.  The  first  step  had 
been  taken  to  divide  the  confessors  into  a  class,  for  none  but 
married  priests  could  take  confessions.2 

The  priests  of  Yucatan  were  so  much  venerated  that  they 
were  the  lords  who  inflicted  punishments  and  assigned  rewards, 
and  were  exactly  obeyed.  They  were  presided  over  by  a  high- 
priest.  These  priests  appointed  the  festivals  and  ceremonies, 
administered  the  sacraments,  divined  and  prophesied,  and  exor 
cised  spirits.  They  were  so  much  respected,  they  were  some 
times  carried  shoulder-high.3 

Herrera  says,  however,  that  they  forged  answers  from  the 
oracles  to  impose  upon  the  people  and  get  their  presents,  and 
also  practised  sorcery.4 

Each  of  the  numerous  tribes  of  Guatemala  had  a  distinct 
and  separate  body  of  priests,  who,  by  means  of  their  oracles, 
exercised  a  decided  influence  on  the  state.  The  Quiches 
were  spiritually  governed  by  independent  pontiffs.  The  high- 
priests  of  Tohil  and  Gucumatz  belonged  to  the  royal  house, 
and  held  the  fourth  and  fifth  rank  among  the  grandees  of  the 
empire.  The  two  high-priests  of  the  Kahba  temple  in  Utatlan 
were  of  the  royal  stock,  and  each  had  a  province  allotted  for 
his  support  at  Istlavacan.  Sixty  priests,  diviners,  and  medicine 
men  exercised  their  offices  even  in  modern  times,  for  the  in 
fluence  of  the  native  priesthood  prevails  in  many  localities. 

1  3  Bancroft,  446.  a  3  ib.,  473.          3  Landa,  xxvii.          *  4  Herrera,  174. 


384  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

At  Copan,  a  priest  was  so  revered  that  a  person  who  presumed 
to  touch  him  was  expected  to  fall  dead  immediately.1 

In  Nicaragua,  the  office  of  high-priest  was  held  by  the 
caciques,  who  each  in  turn  filled  the  position  for  a  year,  re 
moving  from  home  to  the  chief  temple.  At  the  expiration  of 
the  term  he  received  the  honorable  distinction  of  having  his 
nose  perforated.  The  ordinary  priests  had  no  fixed  revenues, 
and  lived  on  the  offerings  to  the  idols.  Their  sorcerers  could 
produce  death  by  a  look.  They  had  oracles,  the  answers  from 
which  came  through  the  mouths  of  the  priests.  The  chief 
priests  of  the  temples  exercised  great  influence  on  account  of 
their  sanctity  and  superior  knowledge,  and  none  dared  approach 
them  except  the  principal  men  of  the  state.2 

The  natives  of  the  Isthmus  had  a  priesthood  sworn  to  per 
petual  chastity.  Fasting  and  prayer  for  the  needs  of  the  people 
formed  the  greater  part  of  their  offices.3 

The  high-priest  and  four  assistants  among  the  natives  of  San 
Salvador  were  accustomed  to  meet  to  ascertain,  by  sorcery  and 
enchantment,  whether  they  should  make  war,  and  their  decision 
was  implicitly  obeyed.4 

Among  the  Chibchas  of  Bogota  the  priests  were  much  re 
spected.  They  were  not  allowed  to  marry,  and  lived  an  austere 
life.  No  sacrifice  could  be  made  but  by  the  hands  of  a  priest.5 

Evidences  of  a  recognition  of  special  calls  to  the  office  of 
the  priesthood  appear.  The  priestly  office  among  the  Peruvians 
appears  to  have  been  hereditary ;  some  attained  to  it  by  elec 
tion  ;  a  man  struck  by  lightning  was  considered  as  chosen  by 
heaven  ;  also  those  who  became  suddenly  insane.6  Mr.  Southey 
says  that  among  the  Moxos  of  Brazil,  who  worshipped  the 
tiger,  a  man  who  was  rescued  from  but  marked  by  the  claws 
of  that  animal  was  set  apart  for  the  priesthood,  and  none  other. 

1  3  Bancroft,  489-90.  a  3  ib.,  495-96.  3  3  ib.,  499. 

*  Palacio,  66.  s  p.  Simon,  249.  6  Arriaga,  20. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

CONCLUSION. 

THE  belief  in  the  existence  and  proximity  of  a  world  of 
spirits,  and  a  fear  of  such  spirits,  is  the  only  solution  of  all  the 
curious  religious  customs,  ceremonies,  and  superstitions  of 
pagan  life.  A  degeneracy  from  monotheism  has  not  taken 
place,  but  rather  a  gradual  development  from  the  rudest  super 
stition.  This  is  shown  conclusively  by  the  numerous  survivals 
of  the  lowest  forms  of  superstition  in  a  higher  culture.  The 
elimination  of  these  superstitions  is  gradually  taking  place,  as 
their  error  is  discovered  and  their  inutility  to  the  higher  cul 
ture  is  manifest.  This  elimination  is,  and  will  always  be,  a 
slow  process,  because  each  individual  has  attained  a  different 
stage  of  progress  from  every  other,  and  the  more  advanced 
will  be  ready  to  discard  much  that  those  less  enlightened  still 
cling  to  as  a  heritage  of  the  past. 

It  is  questionable  whether  the  highest  man  will  be  able  to 
eradicate  from  his  nature  every  vestige  of  a  superstitious  fear 
or  dread  of  the  supernatural.  Great  progress,  however,  is  made 
toward  this  end  when  a  multitude  of  superhuman  beings,  who 
are  supposed  to  have  power  over  the  forces  of  nature,  and  are 
at  times  malevolent  in  their  disposition,  are  supplanted  by  one 
ruling  power  who  controls  all  things  in  justice  and  by  un 
changing  law.  Our  increasing  knowledge  of  nature's  laws  is, 
however,  working  to  diminish  the  domain  of  the  supernatural. 
The  paramount  influence  which  surrounding  nature  has  on  the 
development  of  the  human  being  is  unquestionable.  It  is  the 
more  powerful  the  nearer  the  people  is  to  the  uncultured  state, 
and  diminishes  in  proportion  as  human  art  and  science  gain 

385 


3 86  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

power  over  the  forces  of  nature.  For  this  reason  a  primitive 
people  ascribe  spiritual  agencies  to  those  results  of  nature's 
laws  not  understood  by  them. 

Primitive  animism  is  marvellously  self-consistent.  Its  phi 
losophy  is  the  conservation  and  correlation  of  spiritual  force 
which  dwells  in  and  controls  matter.  All  the  phenomena  of 
nature  are  explicable  thereby.  It  is  "  so  coherent  as  to  create 
a  perfect  plexus  of  ideas  that  mutually  support  and  interpret 
one  another;  so  persistent  that  even  the  more  extravagant 
developments  can  survive  for  ages  in  defiance  of  accurate 
knowledge."  It  is  the  only  philosophy  that  renders  it  possible 
to  bring  about  a  unity  in  mythological  science,  and  by  it  alone 
can  a  religious  evolution  be  made  out.  It  is  in  perfect  accord 
with  modern  science  and  thought  upon  the  subject  of  man's 
social  development. 

All  the  doctrines  of  the  present  day  have  their  source  in 
animism.  In  the  animistic  philosophy  is  embraced  a  belief  in 
the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  its  entity  could  not  be  de 
stroyed,  but  continued  in  a  never-ending  circle  of  transmigra 
tion  or  emigration,  which  was  the  genesis  of  all  superstition. 
The  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  of  the  body  was  believed  in, 
and  all  its  parts  preserved  with  sacred  care.  A  belief  in  re 
wards  and  punishments  existed  in  the  primitive  animism.  Says 
the  Aztec  proverb,  "  Remember  that  evil,  like  a  poisonous  herb, 
brings  death  to  those  who  taste  it." 

Apotheosis  and  translation  were  the  highest  prizes  awarded 
the  meritorious.  Such  subtle  doctrines  as  the  incarnation  and 
immaculate  conception  are  found  as  forms  of  transmigration. 
Prophecy,  revelation,  and  miracles  are  all  logical  results  of 
animism  and  found  everywhere.  Among  the  aborigines  of 
America  the  modern  ordinances  of  religion,  such  as  the  eucha- 
rist,  baptism,  penance,  confession,  and  sacrifice,  are  found  among 
their  pagan  rites. 

Savage  animism  is  not  a  degeneracy  of  a  higher  culture.  In 
it  we  find  no  survivals  which  show  inconsistencies  with  it; 
whereas  in  higher  cultures  we  find  survivals  of  primitive  super- 


CONCLUSION.  387 

stition  wholly  inconsistent  with  the  more  advanced  beliefs. 
Their  presence  in  the  higher  culture  can  only  be  explained  by 
a  survival.  The  whole  scope  of  man's  doctrinal  history  shows 
a  progressive  movement.  If  monotheism  had  been  an  original 
doctrine,  traces  of  such  a  belief  would  have  remained  among 
all  peoples.  If  the  cure  of  disease  by  medication  had  been  the 
original  method,  such  a  useful  art  would  never  have  been  so 
utterly  lost  that  sorcery  should  wholly  usurp  its  place.  These 
two  special  characteristics  of  a  higher  civilization  are  not  found 
in  primitive  culture,  but  all  the  primitive  superstitions,  in  modi 
fied  form  or  in  outline,  are  found  in  the  higher  cultures. 

Before  closing  this  work,  it  is  appropriate  to  notice  what 
historical  tradition  says  about  the  primitive  social  condition  of 
the  civilized  races  of  America.  The  first  important  result  of  a 
hunting  life  is  the  scattering  of  the  population  in  small  masses, 
which  requires  a  large  area,  which  of  itself  renders  any  advance 
in  civilization  impossible,  a  relatively  dense  population,  with 
its  multifarious  reciprocal  relations,  being  an  indispensable  con 
dition  of  civilization. 

M.  Pauw  says  of  the  different  grades  of  civilization,  "  Cul 
tivators  come  first,  because  their  subsistence  is  the  least  pre 
carious,  their  life  the  least  turbulent,"  thus  affording  them 
leisure  to  think  and  reflect.  Hunters  are  always  savage.  They 
dread  the  multiplication  of  their  species,  because  game  will  be 
less  abundant.  They  are  the  farthest  removed  from  social  or 
ganization.  Never  at  peace  with  men  or  animals,  their  instincts 
are  savage.  Among  the  American  aborigines  the  hunter  con 
dition  was  the  most  prevalent.  Agricultural  pursuits  were 
found,  however,  among  the  more  civilized.  American  agricul 
ture  was  indigenous.  This  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  grains 
of  the  Old  World  were  absent,  and  its  agriculture  was  founded 
on  the  maize,  an  American  plant.  Their  agriculture  and  their 
architecture  show  an  indigenous  origin  of  their  civilization,  as 
does  also  their  mythology.  Since  we  have  traced  a  develop 
ment  in  their  religious  belief  and  ceremony,  let  us  see  what 
evidence,  if  any,  mythology  will  contribute  toward  disclosing 


388  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

the  primitive  condition  of  the  most  civilized  nations,  and  the 
development  of  their  civilization. 

The  Peruvian  civilization  was  the  highest  reached  on  the 
American  continent,  but  their  traditions  show  a  primitive  bar 
barism.  Many  of  the  Peruvians  descended,  according  to  tra 
dition,  from  animals.  Several  tribes  trace  their  descent  from 
the  condor,  and  the  eagle  and  animal  forms  were  used  as 
heraldic  designs.  Manco  Capac  banished  cannibalism  and 
human  sacrifices  and  introduced  peaceable  pursuits.  He  was  a 
social  organizer,  and  a  builder  of  cities.  In  six  years  after  the 
founding  of  Cuzco  he  had  a  well-drilled  army,  with  which  the 
barbarous  peoples  that  surrounded  his  little  state  were  subdued.1 
Caste-distinctions  were  found  in  Peru,  and  their  growth  is  in 
dicated  in  the  traditional  descent  of  the  three  classes  from  gold, 
silver,  and  copper.  The  princes  descended  from  gold,  the 
nobles  from  silver,  and  the  common  people  from  copper.2  This 
myth  has  historical  significance,  and  in  it  is  preserved  the  fact 
that  the  class  of  the  nobility  originated  after  the  other  two 
classes,  for,  says  the  myth,  "  at  first  there  were  only  the  Incas  and 
other  people."  The  caste  system  of  the  Peruvians  varies  from 
the  Oriental  in  the  absence  of  the  priest  and  warrior  castes.  In 
Peru,  priests  were  officers  of  the  son  of  the  Sun,  and  there  was 
no  warrior  caste,  because  all  were  called  upon  to  bear  arms  peri 
odically,  showing  no  ethnological  conquest  as  in  the  Orient. 

In  knowledge,  little  progress  had  been  made  by  the  Peruvians, 
except,  perhaps,  in  mechanical  and  agricultural  pursuits.  Agri 
culture  was  especially  encouraged  and  patronized  by  the  Incas, 
who  turned  the  earth,  at  their  annual  ceremonial,  with  a  golden 
plough.  They  had  little  knowledge  of  science.  They  thought 
rain  was  produced  by  a  rain  goddess,  who  poured  water  upon 
the  earth  from  a  pitcher.  Anger  was  the  predominant  emotion 
of  their  gods,  and  their  outbursts  of  wrath  were  manifested  in 
eclipses,  storms,  and  comets.3  Their  fire-worship  was,  in  pre- 


1  M tiller,  Geschichte  Anier.  Urrelig.  a  Des  Jardins,  Le  Ferou,  29. 

3  Miiller,  Ges.  Amer.  Urrelig.,  395. 


CONCLUSION.  389 

Incarial  times,  connected  with  stone-worship,1  but  in  later  times 
with  sun-worship.  The  sun  was  anthropomorphosed,  and  re 
moved  from  the  control  of  natural  law.  Stars  were  named  after 
earthly  animal  gods  and  human  beings,  which  were  thought  to  be 
heavenly  prototypes.  They  had  no  medical  knowledge ;  their 
writing  was  pictographic.  Their  geographical  maps  were  made 
of  clay,  with  small  stones  in  bas-relief  to  denote  the  few  locali 
ties  known.  The  gods  of  the  Incas  set  us  no  moral  examples. 
There  were  many  immoral  elements  in  their  worship.  Prayer 
was  offered  to  these  divinities  by  priests,  but  personal  prayer 
was  little  used.  Such  was  their  civilization  in  its  moral  aspects. 

A  development  of  the  civilization  of  the  Muyscas  of  Bogota 
from  savagery  is  confirmed  by  their  myths.  The  former  naked 
ness  of  the  people  is  set  forth  in  their  traditionary  clothing  by 
Bochica,  who  found  them  naked.  He  had  the  fabulous  age  of 
two  thousand  years  ascribed  to  him,  in  accordance  with  the 
custom  of  all  ancient  nations.  All  of  this  period  was  em 
ployed,  until  about  the  time  of  his  death,  in  elevating  his  sub 
jects. 

The  most  remote  antiquity  is  always  the  age  of  giants,  and 
great  convulsions  of  nature  are  thought  to  terminate  and  begin 
an  epoch.  The  Mexicans  had  five  such  epochs.  The  first  was 
that  of  the  giants  ;  the  second  was  that  of  fire,  from  which 
the  birds  and  one  human  pair  escaped;  the  third  was  that  of 
wind,  from  which,  however,  one  human  pair  was  again  saved  ; 
the  fourth  was  the  age  of  water,  from  which  a  snake  woman 
escaped,  and  from  her  the  present  race  sprang.  The  snake 
woman,  or  the  woman  of  the  snake  gens,  shows  the  existence 
of  the  totemic  system.  The  Aztec  military  orders  were  divided 
into  gentes  named  after  animals,  showing  a  former  primitive 
condition. 

The  Aztec  government  gave  the  Mexican  religion  its  dark 
and  sanguinary  nature.  The  system  of  natural  religion  depends 
on  the  idea  that  prevails  of  the  character  of  the  divinities,  whose 

1  Muller,  Ges.  Amer.  Urrelig.,  368. 


390  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

nature  depends  on  the  traditionary  character  of  the  apotheosized 
ruler.  If  an  inexorable  tyrant,  his  worship  will  be  bloody. 
At  the  time  of  the  discovery  a  powerful  religious  hierarchy  had 
grown  up  in  the  Mexican  empire.  Four  million  priests  officiated 
in  their  religious  ritual,  who  also  had  great  political  influence. 
Besides  these  there  were  monks,  who  were  confined  in  cloisters 
and  were  celibates.  Learning  and  education  were  in  the  hands 
of  the  priests  and  religious  orders.  All  boys  had  to  pass 
through  the  ordeal  of  baptism  by  fire,  in  which  they  were 
drawn  four  times  through  that  purifying  element.  They  were  a 
priest-ridden  people.  The  Mexican  civilization  at  the  time  of 
the  conquest  presented  an  incongruous  mixture  of  good  and 
evil.  It  was  made  up  of  Aztec  and  Toltec  elements.  The 
Aztecs  were  a  semi-barbarous  people,  whose  association  with 
the  more  civilized  but  subjugated  Toltecs  was  producing  the 
inconsistency  of  a  social  compact  made  up  of  peaceful  and 
sanguinary  ingredients.  Human  flesh  would  be  sold  in  market 
places  adorned  with  flowers.  The  taste  for  flowers  undoubtedly 
indicates  a  relish  for  the  beautiful,  and  we  are  astonished  at 
finding  it  in  a  nation  in  which  a  sanguinary  worship  appeared 
to  have  extinguished  whatever  related  to  the  sensibility  of  the 
soul.  In  the  great  market-place  of  Mexico  the  native  sells 
no  peaches,  or  roots,  or  pulque,  without  having  his  shop 
ornamented  with  flowers.  The  Indian  merchant  appears  seated 
in  an  intrenchment  of  verdure. 

Although  the  arts  were  in  their  infancy,  yet  those  appertain 
ing  to  worship  and  personal  adornment  were  pursued  to  an 
extent  that  denoted  a  generous  patronage. 

Among  the  Mexicans  the  laws  against  theft  were  severe,  and 
punished  with  slavery  or  death.  Drunkenness  was  allowed  in 
men  after  sixty,  and  in  women  after  they  were  grandmothers. 
Fornication  was  allowed  among  the  unmarried,  but  it  was  pun 
ished  with  death  among  the  married.  Their  laws  were  utili 
tarian  rather  than  moral.  Cannibalism  was  sanctioned  by  re 
ligion.  Phallic  worship  existed,  according  to  the  monuments, 
and  at  an  annual  festival  licentiousness  prevailed  to  such  an 


CONCLUSION.  391 

extent  that  the  noblest  women  were  willing  victims.  The  Tol- 
tecs  thought  that  their  great  goddess  Centeotl  would  triumph 
at  last  over  the  ferocious  gods  of  their  warlike  conquerors,  and 
human  sacrifices  would  be  abolished. 

Among  the  Maya  nations  in  their  higher  civilization,  a 
former  condition  of  savagery  and  totemism  may  be  strongly 
suspected  when  the  names  of  the  fox,  jackal,  paroquet,  and 
crow  are  found  attached  to  them  in  the  annals.  Their  tra 
ditions  corroborate  this. 

In  the  cosmogony  of  the  Quiches,  of  the  four  men  first 
created,  three  were  named  after  the  tiger, — namely,  Balam 
Quitze,  the  tiger  with  the  sweet  smile;  Balam  Agab,  tiger  of 
the  night ;  and  Iqui  Balam,  tiger  of  the  moon.  The  Popol 
Vuh  appears  to  intimate  a  totemism,  and  to  recognize  a  meta 
morphosis  of  the  fierce  animals  into  stone  when  they  threatened 
the  destruction  of  the  human  race. 

The  Miztecs  seem  to  have  worshipped  the  deer,  as  their  first 
gods  were  called  deer,  male  and  female,  and  these  deities  had 
children,  from  whom  they  descended.  Traditionary  descent 
from  animals  implies  an  early  condition  of  savagery. 

The  process  of  social  development  received  little  aid  from 
sorcerers,  or  priests,  who  were  the  religious  leaders  of  the 
people.  With  few  exceptions  they  were  impostors.  Hence 
the  religious  condition  was  most  deplorable  of  those  who  were 
the  most  advanced  in  their  civil  organization. 

Fear  is  the  prevailing  religious  sentiment  among  all  the 
tribes  of  America.  Religion  did  not  have  much  moral  in 
fluence  toward  ennobling  hearts  or  humanizing  manners,  but 
merely  excited  emotions  of  fear  and  increased  fanaticism. 
Prayers  were  offered  for  material  things,  but  touched  not  morals. 
Prayer  was  in  the  form  of  conversation  with  spirits.  Hence 
among  the  savage  tribes  we  find  very  little  evidence,  if  any,  of 
a  moral  sentiment.  Neither  among  savage  nor  civilized  was 
morality  a  religious  necessity.  Where  a  moral  dualism  occurs, 
it  can  be  reduced  to  the  simple  terms  of  the  Totonecs,  who  had 
a  dualism,  but  "  their  evil  gods  were  those  of  the  Aztecs,  their 


392  PRIMITIVE  SUPERSTITIONS. 

enemies  and  conquerors."  Their  worst  barbarities  were  com 
mitted  at  the  instigation  of  superstition.  Even  the  custom  of 
abandoning  the  infirm  or  sick  arose  from  a  superstitious  fear  of 
the  evil  spirits  which  were  supposed  to  have  taken  possession 
of  them. 

The  religion  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  America  was  a  sys 
tem  of  superstitions,  all  of  which  are  explicable  by  the  doc 
trine  of  the  agency  of  multitudes  of  spirits,  and  in  no  other 
way. 


INDEX. 


A. 


Absolution,  priestly,.  375  ;  acquittal  of 
criminals,  375. 

Abstention  from  animal  food,  supersti 
tious  origin  of,  49,  169,  237. 

Agency,  spiritual,  26,  69,  92,  349,  352, 
377>  3925  in  disease,  51-61;  in  pro 
duction  of  winds  and  storms,  349- 
352;  in  prophecy,  363,  364. 

Agriculture,  indigenous  character  of 
American,  387,  388. 

Altars,  tombs  the  primitive,  218-220; 
altar-mounds,  188-190. 

Amulets,  71 ;  amuletic  character  of  fet- 
ichism,  141.  See  Fetichism. 

Ancestors,  worship  of,  72—74,  80,  86— 
88,  91,  104,  no,  115. 

Anchorite,  100. 

Angekok,  371. 

Animals,  worship  of,  221,  256,  266; 
worship  of  animal  spirits,  253 ;  fear 
of  animal  spirits,  253;  animal  dress, 
248-253;  animal  dances,  251-253; 
worship  of  every  variety  of  animal 
life,  255,  256;  transmigration  of  hu 
man  souls  into  animals,  48-51,  221, 
254,  255 ;  superstitions  about  white 
animals,  260;  animal  forms  in  art, 
222,  223,  266-268;  fabulous  animals, 
268-286;  animals  in  role  of  creators, 
222,  223,  268,  269 ;  deluges  produced 
byanimals,  269, 270;  winds  produced 
by  animals,  270 ;  convulsive  changes 
in  nature  produced  by  animals,  270, 
271;  superstitions  about  strange  ani 
mals,  281,  282;  descent  of  human 
race  from  animals,  221-223,  23I~237, 


242;  descent  of  animals  from  human 
race,  242-245 ;  animal  names  given 
human  beings,  230,  231,  237;  sexual 
unions  of  animals  and  human  beings, 
234-237 ;  disease  produced  by  ani 
mal  spirits,  51-61. 

Animism,  52,  71,  116,  117,  133,  134, 
317,  321,  325,  326,  386;  animistic 
origin  of  idol-worship,  116,  117,  123 
—125;  animistic  origin  of  fetichism, 
141,  156;  animistic  origin  of  nature- 
worship,  317,  321,  325,  326;  ani 
mistic  origin  of  Sabaism,  326;  co 
herency  of,  386;  persistency  of,  386. 

Anointing  kings,  ceremony  of,  378. 

Anthropomorphism,  80,  83-85,  89,  91 ; 
anthropomorphic  character  of  plant- 
spirits,  299;  anthropomorphic  char 
acter  of  tree-spirits,  289 ;  anthro 
pomorphic  nature  of  the  heavenly 
bodies,  62,  326,  336-338,  347,  348; 
anthropomorphic  character  of  deities, 
92,  96-99,  107,  1 10. 

Apotheosis,  76-78,  96,  102,  105,  106, 
112,  114,  386. 

Araucanians,  locality  of  their  spirit- 
land,  36. 

Architecture,  indigenous  character  of 
aboriginal,  387. 

Areskoui,  Iroquois  deity,  87. 

Astrology,  348,  381. 

Astronomical  knowledge,  336 ;  crude 
ideas  of  heavenly  bodies,  342,  343. 

Athaensic,  Iroquois  deity,  87. 

Atlas,  or  earth-upholding  deity,  of  the 
New  World,  113. 

Atotarho,  Iroquois  cult-hero,  86. 

Augury,  223,  226,  377. 

393 


394 


INDEX. 


Aztec  sovereigns,  96, 97 ;  military  orders, 
289;  sanguinary  character  of  Aztec 
religion,  389. 


B. 


Bacab,  immaculate  conception  of,  106. 
Bachue,  Muysca  goddess,  112. 
Baptism,  103,  370,  372,  373,  382,  386. 
Blackbird,  mythical  light-producer,  268. 
Bochica,  Muysca  god,  112. 
Bogota,  civilization  of,  389. 
Bone-houses,  118,  178,  179. 
Bones  of  the  dead,    144;  preservation 

of,  177,  193-195;  preservation  of  the 

bones  of  animals,  157,  158,  193,  199; 

the  bones  the  dwelling-place  of  the 

spirit,  193. 

Buffaloes,  worship  of,  258. 
Burial  in  temples,  178;  burial  in  huts, 

175;  burial-customs,  163-196. 
Butterfly,  mythical  creator,  269. 


c, 


Canis  Major,  329. 

Cannibalism,  origin    of,    144-152,388, 

390- 

Captives,  sacrifice  of,  214. 
Caste,  system  of,  in  Peru,  388;  priestly 

caste,  371,372. 
Catalepsy,  198. 

Cataracts,  worship  of,  315,  319,  320. 
Ceremonies,  burial,  169,  170,  172.    See 

chapter  on   Priestcraft  for  religious 

ceremonies. 
Charms,  134,  157,  264. 
Chiefs,  worship  of  dead,  77. 
Chulpas,  burial-towers  of  Peru,  191. 
Cities  of  refuge,  323,  324. 
Cloisters,  335. 

Coatlicue,  goddess  of  flowers,  102. 
Composite  forms,  human  and  animal,  in 

art  and  myth,  235,  267,  268,  276-278, 

283,  284. 

Confessional,  57,  58,373-375.  383.386. 
Confirmation,  372. 


Conjurer,  influence  of,  356,  357.  See 
Sorcery, 

Conopas,  160. 

Convents,  335. 

Copper,  superstition  about,  135. 

Cosmogony,  tribal  myths  about,  268— 
270. 

Couvade,  origin  of,  58,  59. 

Creators,  74,  75,  84,  87,  88,  91,  no, 
113,  268,  269. 

Cremation,  166,  168,  171-174,  187-190, 
194,  196;  cremation-mounds,  187- 
190. 

Cross-roads,  superstition  about,  71. 

Cultivators  of  soil,  387. 

Culture-heroes,  76,  78,  86,  96,  107,  113. 

Cumulative  burials,  165. 

Cure  of  disease,  55,  354-361.  See  Ex 
orcism  and  Sorcery. 


D. 


Deities,  strength  of,  108,  113,  114;  dei 
ties  of  Eskimos,  79 ;  Iroquois,  87 ; 
New  England  tribes,  87,  88  ;  Western 
tribes,  88-91  ;  of  tribes  of  Brazil,  92, 
93;  of  Mexico,  93-102;  of  Yucatan, 
104-107;  of  Guatemala,  108,  109; 
of  Peru,  113,  114. 

Deluge,  132,  269,  270. 

Demonology,  27-29. 

Demons,  28,30,31,40,  53,321  ;  Toltec, 
29;  Peruvian,  29;  local,  30. 

Descent  of  human  race  from  stones,  133 ; 
from  springs,  315;  from  trees,  289; 
from  mountains,  307,  308;  from  sun, 
333>  3345  from  moon,  333;  from  ani 
mals,  222,  223,  231-237,  242. 

Deucalion,  myth  similar  to  that  of,  132. 

Disease,  223;  produced  by  spirits,  51- 
61 ;  by  sorcerers,  361,  362;  cure  of, 

354-301. 

Divination,  223,  381. 
Division  of  labor,  382. 
Doctors,   354;    their  method   of   cure, 

354-360;  influence  of,  356,  357. 
Dreams,  53,  61-68,  163,  223. 
Dress,  animal,  248-253. 


INDEX. 


395 


E. 

Eagles,  worship  of,  261,  262. 

Earth,  supported  by  animals,  311,  312; 
by  men,  113,  312;  supported  on  pil 
lars  of  holy  wood,  292. 

Earthquakes,  production  of,  312. 

Echoes,  the  voices  of  spirits,  42,  177, 
302. 

Eclipses,  causes  of,  340,  344-346. 

Education  in  hands  of  priests,  374,  376, 
378,  381. 

Elements,  worship  of,  349;  control  of, 
by  sorcerers,  365,  366. 

Elopement  of  the  moon,  myth  of,  333. 

Embalming  the  dead,  167,  173. 

Epilepsy,  60. 

Epunamun,  Brazilian  deity,  92. 

Erratic  boulders,  worship  of,  136. 

Eucharist,  rite  similar  to,  152,  153,386; 
eating  gods,  152,  153. 

Evil  eye,  myth  of,  284. 

Evolution,  13-15,  385,  387-90. 

Exorcism,  14,  353,  354,  356,  383. 

Expulsion  of  evil  spirits,  27-29,  40;  ex 
pulsion  of,  14,  29,  353,  354,  356,  383  ; 
transmigration  of,  into  animals,  50, 5 1 ; 
return  of,  from  spirit-land,  37,  43,  44. 

F. 

Fabulous  animals,  268-286. 

Fairies,  23-25. 

Family  gods,  no,  in. 

Fear  of  spirits,  253,  385. 

Festivals  to  the  dead,  72,  73,  77. 

Fetichism,  141—144;  fetichistic  super 
stitions,  141-161,  259;  animistic 
origin  of,  141,  156. 

Fire,  mythical  origin  of,  293. 

Flagellation,  practice  of,  375. 

Flags,  fetichistic  origin  of,  241. 

Flamingoes  used  as  fetiches,  161. 

Flood,  traditions  of,  269,  270,  323. 

Flying  heads,  281. 

Food-offerings  to  the  dead,  200-205. 

Fountain  of  life,  tradition  of,  132,  269, 
270,  314. 

Future  life,  31,  32;  rewards  and  pun 
ishments  of,  31,  33,  50,  51,  204,  205. 


G. 

Gateways,  guardian  spirits  of,  122,  123. 
Gentes,  animal,  231-237 ;  tree  gens,  289. 

See  Totemism. 

Geysers,  superstitions  about,  314. 
Ghosts,  42,  69. 
Giants,  78,  85,  86. 
Gods,  84-102;    of  air,  352;  rain,  103, 

388 ;  sea,  322,  323  ;  of  love,  100,  101 ; 

of  mirth,    IOI ;  of  flowers,    102;    of 

medicine,  poetry,  and  music,  106;  of 

dead,  97 ;  thunder,  83,  93. 
Grave-posts,  117,  118. 
Great  Spirit,  15,  16,  85. 

H. 
Haunted  places,  21,  22,  302-305,  309- 

3"- 

Hayti,  mythical  animation  of,  312. 
Heads,  preservation  of  human,  as  fet 
iches,  143. 
Heavenly  bodies,  worship  of,  325-348 ; 

anthropomorphic   character    of,  326; 

personality  of,  320,   332;    animation 

of,  326. 

Heavenly  ladders,  67. 
Heraldry  and  heraldic  devices,  237-239, 

241,  250. 
Hermits,  381. 

Heyokah,  a  Dacotah  god,  84. 
Hiawatha,  86. 
Hieroglyphic  writing,  239. 
High-priests,  381-384;  office  hereditary, 

38i. 
Human  spirits,  worship   of,  69-71,  77, 

82,87,  88,  91,  no.     See  Apotheosis 

and  Translation. 
Hun  Ahpu,  a  Quiche  god,  108. 
Hunter  tribes,  condition  of,  387. 

I. 
Idols,   115,    123-130;  vitality  of,   116, 

117,  123-125;  idol  pipe,  128. 
Images,  use  of,  in  sorcery,  361 ;  worship 

of  images  of  the  dead,  125,  126. 
Immaculate  conception,  76,    101,   in, 

113,386. 
Immortality  of  human    spirits,   31-33, 


396 


INDEX. 


50,  51,  204,  205  (see  Spirits  and 
Apotheosis) ;  immortality  of  animal 
spirits,  223,  224. 

Impostors,  366,  371,  372.  See  Sorcery 
and  Priestcraft. 

Incantation,  354,  356. 

Incarnation,  45-47,  78,  90,  IO2,  108, 
386.  See  Transmigration. 

Incas,  worship  of,  72,  1 14. 

Indian  corn,  origin  of,  293. 

Indian  summer,  origin  of,  181. 

Infanticide,  38. 

Inherence  of  spiritual  life,  142-144. 

Intercessory  character  of  human  sacri 
fices,  214. 

Interchange  of  souls,  60. 

Interment,  166,  168,  171,  174,  177,  194, 

195- 
Intoxicating  herbs,  superstitions  about, 

295-297. 
Islands,  worship  0^309;  haunted,  309; 

sacred,  311. 
Ixtlilton,  a  god  of  medicine,  99. 

J- 

Jouskeha,  an  Iroquois  deity,  87. 

K. 

Kabibonocca,  a  deity,  82. 
Kareya,  a  deity,  88. 
Khanuk,  a  deity,  89. 


Lakes,  worship  of,  315,  319-322. 
Legend  of  Mount  Shasta,  308. 
Licentiousness  of  Aztec  religion,  390, 

391- 

Living,  worship  of  the,  75. 
Locality  of  the  spirit-land,  35-43. 
Longevity  of  gods,  112. 
Lycanthropy,  246. 

M. 

Manabozho,  a  deity,  80-82. 
Manco  Capac,  1 14,  334,  388. 
Mandioca,  traditional  origin  of,  293. 
Manitology,  221,  237. 


Manitous,  222,  223,  226-229;  manner 
of  selection,  227-230. 

Maracas,  fetichistic  nature  of,  159,  160. 

Mastodon,  bones  of,  84,  279,  280. 

Mayas,  civilization  of,  391. 

Medicine-bag,  158,  159,  382. 

Mermaids,  277,  278. 

Metamorphosis,  101,  130-132,  223,243- 
249.  3°5»  3°6,  326,  327;  origin  in 
animal  dress,  248-253 ;  from  eating 
animal  flesh,  253. 

Meteorology,  349-352;  winds  produced 
by  spirits,  349-352. 

Meteors,  330. 

Mexitli,  a  Mexican  deity,  101. 

Milky  Way,  329,  346. 

Miracles,  367,  368,  386;  ascribed  to 
sorcerers,  366-368  ;  dead  brought  to 
life,  368 ;  belief  of  Catholic  priests 
in  miracles  of  native  sorcerers,  368 ; 
power  of  working  ascribed  to  those 
in  possession  of  a  mysterious  object, 
369;  mantle,  embarking  on,  114; 
sea  parts  for  passage  of  Quiches,  109. 

Monasteries,  376. 

Monotheism,  385,  387. 

Montezuma,  76. 

Moon,  worship  of,  343  ;  myths  of,  329, 

332,  333- 

Moral  character  of  the  religion  of  abo 
rigines,  391  ;  of  convents,  335. 

Mounds,  burial,  178-187;  altar,  iSS, 
190;  animal  mounds,  241,  242;  re 
cent  erection  of,  179-181  ;  civilization 
required  in  erection  of,  179-181. 

Mountains,  worship  of,  301-305  ;  haunt 
ed,  202-205;  metamorphosed  into 
men  and  animals,  305,  306;  tradi 
tionary  descent  from,  307-,  308. 

Mythology,  comparative,  17. 

Myths,  star,  327,  328,  330,  331. 

N. 

Names,  superstitions  about,  21,153-156; 
of  living,  153, 154;  of  dead,  154-156  ; 
change  of,  154. 

Naology,  science  of  symbolism,  221. 
i  Nature-myths,  325. 


INDEX. 


397 


Niagara  Falls,  worship  of,  300. 
Nondescript  animals,  278,  279. 
Northern  lights,  330. 

O. 

Obsession,  52. 

Omaha,  a  god,  91  ;  evil  spirit,  40. 

Omens,  56,  62,  223,  224  ;  cries  of  birds, 

225,  226. 

Oracles,  137,  138,  225,  226,  383. 
Origin   of  trees,  292,  293  ;    of   plants, 

293  ;  of  the  color  of  red  clover,  293. 
Orion,  329. 

Ornamentation,  fetichistic  origin  of,  141. 
Ouiot,  a  god,  75,  91. 
Owls,  worship  of,  262,  263. 

P. 

Pachacamac,  334,  335. 

Penance,  373,  375. 

Persecution,  religious,  335. 

Peru,   civilization  of,    388 ;    deities  of, 

113,  114;  priesthood  of,  372-374. 
Phallic  worship,  390. 
Phlebotomy,  382. 

Photographs,  superstitions  about,  140. 
Piasan,  legend  of,  274-276. 
Pilgrimages,  105,  134,  303,  304. 
Plants,  worship  of,  293,  295,  296,  299; 

personality  of,  294 ;  spirits   of,  294  ; 

anthropomorphic    character  of,  299; 

supernatural  character  of  intoxicating 

and  healing  herbs,   295-298;  origin 

of  maize,  293;    of   mandioca,  293; 

of  red  clover,  293. 
Pottery,    122;    worship  of  burial-urns, 

120,  121. 

Prayer,  70,  71,  73,  74,  389,  391. 

Priestcraft,  123,  353,  370,  372-381; 
priestly  caste,  355,  356,  371-374; 
in  Mexico,  374-380 ;  language,  372  ; 
honesty  of,  379  ;  calls  to,  384;  main 
tenance  of,  377,  378;  dress  of,  377; 
confessions  to  priests,  374,  375  ;  edu 
cation  in  hands  of,  374,  376,  378, 
381;  imposture  of,  353-356;  temporal 
power  of,  381. 


Primitive  superstitions,  19-22. 
Primitive  temples,  118. 
Promethean  legend,  97. 
Prophecy,  363-365,  386. 
Prophet,  363-365,  374,  386. 
Protecting  genii  of  towns,  122,  123. 

Q- 

Quahootze,  a  god,  89. 

Quetzalcoatl,  a  Mexican  god,  93  ;  human 

nature  of,  93-99  ;  reforms  of,  94,  95. 
Quiches,  civilization  of,  391  ;  deities  of, 

108,  109. 

R. 

Rabbits,  worship  of,  256. 

Rain,  sorcerers  control,  365  ;  produced 
by  sorcerers,  365,  366  ;  rain  goddess, 
388. 

Relics,  70-72,  144. 

Resurrection  of  body,  162-164,  r94. 
J95»  I97~I99»386;  cases  of  resuscita 
tion,  197,  198;  resurrection  of  ani 
mals,  199. 

Revelation,  386.     See  Prophecy. 

Rivers,  worship  of,  315-317;  spirits  of, 
316;  music  of  river-spirits,  317. 

Road  to  spirit-land;  357;  difficulties 
of,  35 ;  length  of,  37  ;  of  the  dead, 

329- 
Rock-temples,  301,  302. 

S. 

Sabaism,  325-332. 

Sacrifice,  70,  71,  73,  196;  of  food,  200, 
205  ;  periodical  renewal  of  food-offer 
ings,  203 ;  utilitarian  character  of, 
205,  220;  sacrifice  of  property,  205- 
208;  of  flowers,  205,206;  substitu 
tion  of  the  images  of  property,  208; 
becomes  a  ceremonial  rite,  208  ;  hu 
man  sacrifice,  101-103,  107,  109,  m, 
208-216;  suicides  in  sacrifices,  209, 
211  ;  intercessory  character  of  human 
sacrifice,  214  ;  sacrifice  of  children, 
214—216  ;  tombs  the  altars  of  sacrifice, 
218-220;  bodily  mutilations,  216- 


26 


398 


INDEX. 


220  ;  myth  of   the  substitution   of  a 
spiritual  being,  208,  209. 

Scalping,  fetichistic  origin  of,  142,  143. 

Scomalt,  a  deity,  90. 

Serpents,  worship  of,  263-266. 

Shamanism,  370. 

Shingebiss,  an  Ojibway  god,  82,  83. 

Shooting  stars,  329. 

Sorcerer,  52,  54,  57,  95,  96. 

Sorcery,  142-144,  361 ;  practice  of,  in 
cure  of  disease,  354-360,  382,  387 ; 
use  of  idols  in  sorcery,  138-140. 

Spirits,  worship  of  human,  69-71,  82, 
113,  115;  fear  of,  14,  19;  worship 
of  evil  spirits,  30;  land  of,  35-43; 
river-spirits,  316,  317;  water-spirits, 
322,  323  ;  contest  with,  22 ;  subter 
ranean  abode  of,  35. 

Springs,  worship  of,  312-315. 

Statues,  worship  of  those  containing 
ashes  of  the  dead,  119,  120. 

Stones,  worship  of,  130-135  ;  animation 
of,  133,  134;  transmigration  of  spirits 
into,  133  ;  oracle-stones,  137,  138. 

Stygian  flood,  37-39. 

Sun,  myths  of,  325-327,  330. 

Supreme  Being,  15,  16,  88,  92,  93. 

Survivals  of  superstitions,  385-387. 

Suspensions  of  the  dead,  166-168,  170, 
171,  174,  176,  177,  194. 

Symbolism,  221,  237;  symbol  of  land, 
312. 

T. 

Tattooing,    fetichistic    origin    of,    156, 

339-441- 
Tchimose,  Haidah  mythological  being, 

278. 

Temples,  primitive,  1 1 8. 
Tezcatlipoca,  a  Mexican  god,  94-96. 
Thunder-bird,  271-274. 
Tlaloc,  Mexican  god  of  rain,  103. 
Toads,  worship  of,  256,  257. 
Toltecs,  95,  96. 
Tortoise,  worship  of,  258;  earth  on  the 

back  of,  312;    shells 'of,  as  fetiches, 

160,  161. 
Totemism,  222,  230-239  ;  totemic  poles, 


Translation,  cases  of,  77,  78,  86-88,  91, 
92,  107,  in,  328,  329,  332,  333. 

Transmigration,  386;  of  human  souls 
into  animals,  48-51,  221. 

Transmission  of  spiritual  essence,  353. 

Trees,  worship  of,  287-292;  spirits  of, 
289,  290;  anthropomorphic  character 
of,  289 ;  origin  of,  292,  293. 

Trimurti,  77,  93. 

Tupa,  a  Brazilian  god,  92. 

Tupinamba  thunder-god,  193. 

U. 

Underground  origin  of  tribes,  200. 

Unktayhee,  a  Dacotah  god,  84. 

Urns,  burial  in,  176,  189;  worship  of, 

120,   121. 

V. 

Valor  rewarded  in  future  life,  32. 
Viracocha,  a  Peruvian  deity,  113. 
Volcanoes,  worship  of,  308,  309 ;  hell 

located  in,  308. 
Votan,  a  Maya  deity,  104. 

\V. 

Water-lily,  origin  of,  332. 
Water-spirits,    322,    323;    worship   of, 

312-326. 
Winds   produced   by  spirits,  349-352 ; 

by  animals,  270. 
Witchcraft,  361. 
Woods,  sacred,  177. 


X. 


Xbalanque,  a  Quiche  god,  108. 

Xipe,  Mexican  god  of  goldsmiths,  IOI. 


V. 


Yehl,  a  deity,  89. 


Zamna,  a  Maya  god,  105. 
Zipacna,  a  Quiche  god,  108. 
Zome,  a  Brazilian  god,  93. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 
^.Tlm  hook  is  DUE  on  thejast  date  stamped  below. 


5    1947 

v/ 

...3\9*5LU 

'1p)  CD 
DEC191958 

FFB  >i    197?  7  J 

»*0'D  Iff 

)LO    J«2l7J 

€«M( 

Ap*   7J958. 

REC'D  L^ 

APR  23  1953 

LD  21-100m-12,'46(A2012s 

16)4120 

